1st Engrossment - 85th Legislature (2007 - 2008) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am
A bill for an act
relating to commerce; regulating customer access to restroom facilities;
proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 325E.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
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This section may be cited as the Restroom Access Act.
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For purposes of this section:
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(a) "Customer" means an individual who is lawfully on the premises of a retail
establishment.
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(b) "Eligible medical condition" means Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, any other
inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome, or any other medical condition
that requires immediate access to a restroom facility.
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(c) "Retail establishment" means a place of business open to the general public for
the sale of goods or services. Retail establishment does not include a filling station or
service station with a structure of 800 square feet or less that has an employee restroom
facility located within that structure.
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A retail
establishment that has a restroom facility for its employees shall allow a customer to
use that facility during normal business hours if the restroom facility is reasonably safe
and all of the following conditions are met:
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(1) the customer requesting the use of the employee restroom facility suffers from
an eligible medical condition or uses an ostomy device;
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(2) three or more employees of the retail establishment are working at the time the
customer requests use of the employee restroom facility;
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(3) the retail establishment does not normally make a restroom available to the
public;
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(4) the employee restroom facility is not located in an area where providing access
would create an obvious health or safety risk to the customer or an obvious security risk
to the establishment; and
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(5) a public restroom is not immediately accessible to the customer.
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(a) A retail establishment or an employee of a retail
establishment is not civilly liable for an act or omission in allowing a customer who
claims to have an eligible medical condition to use an employee restroom facility that is
not a public restroom if the act or omission:
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(1) is not negligent;
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(2) occurs in an area of the retail establishment that is not accessible to the public; and
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(3) results in an injury to or death of the customer or an individual other than an
employee accompanying the customer.
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(b) This section does not require a retail establishment to make any physical changes
to an employee restroom facility.
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A retail establishment or an employee of a retail establishment
that violates this section is guilty of a petty misdemeanor. The fine for a first offense
must not exceed $50.
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