SF 250 (LSB 1054XS (1) 89)

SENATE FILE 250

BY  ZAUN

A BILL FOR

An Act creating the restroom emergency access Act, and providing civil penalties.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  NEW SECTION.  137E.1  Short title.
   This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Restroom Emergency Access Act”.
    Sec. 2.  NEW SECTION.  137E.2  Definitions.
   As used in this chapter unless the context otherwise requires:
   1.  “Consumer” means an individual who is lawfully on the premises of a retail establishment.
   2.  “Department” means the department of public health. 
   3.  “Eligible medical condition” means all of the following:
   a.  Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, or any other inflammatory bowel disease.
   b.  Irritable bowel syndrome.
   c.  Any condition requiring the use of an ostomy device. 
   d.  Any other medical condition that requires immediate access to a restroom facility.
   4.  “Employee restroom facility” means a restroom that is intended only for use by employees of a retail establishment and not for use by the public. 
   5.  “Health care professional” means a person licensed under chapter 148 to practice medicine and surgery or osteopathic medicine and surgery, a registered nurse or an advanced registered nurse practitioner licensed under chapter 152 or an advanced practice registered nurse licensed under chapter 152E, or a physician assistant licensed to practice under chapter 148C.
   6.  “Ostomy device” means a medical device that creates an artificial passage for the elimination of body waste. 
   7.  “Restroom” means a room containing a toilet. 
   8.  “Retail establishment” means a place of business regularly open to the public in which the retail sale of goods or services to the ultimate consumer is the principal business conducted, and includes professional corporations and other entities where legal, medical, dental, engineering, architectural, or other professional services are delivered. “Retail establishment” does not include a residence unless the residence is regularly open to the public as a place of business.
    Sec. 3.  NEW SECTION.  137E.3  Retail establishment —— consumer emergency access to employee restroom facilities.
   1.  A retail establishment that provides an employee restroom facility for its employees and does not normally make a restroom available to the public shall allow a consumer to have emergency access to the employee restroom facility during normal business hours if the employee restroom facility is maintained in a reasonably safe manner and all of the following conditions are met:
   a.  The consumer requesting emergency access to the employee restroom facility suffers from an eligible medical condition and provides written documentation, as approved by the department, of the consumer’s eligible medical condition to the retail establishment.
   b.  A public restroom is not immediately accessible to the consumer.
   c.  A sufficient number of employees of the retail establishment are working at the time the consumer requests emergency access to the employee restroom facility such that the consumer accessing the employee restroom facility does not cause the retail establishment to cease or significantly curtail normal business operations.
   d.  The employee restroom facility is located in an area of the retail establishment that does not present an obvious risk to the health or safety of the consumer or an obvious security risk to the retail establishment. For the purposes of this paragraph:
   (1)  “Obvious risk to the health or safety of the consumer” includes but is not limited to a situation where accessing the employee restroom facility requires the consumer to traverse an area where manufacturing or heavy equipment is in use, items are stored on high shelving, adequate lighting is not present, the flooring is wet or slippery, or hazardous materials are used or stored.
   (2)  “Obvious security risk” includes exposing the consumer to sensitive company documents, materials, or trade secrets. 
   2.  This section shall not require a retail establishment to make any physical changes or improvements to an employee restroom facility.
    Sec. 4.  NEW SECTION.  137E.4  Liability.
   1.  If an act or omission of a retail establishment or an employee of a retail establishment, in allowing a consumer who claims to have an eligible medical condition to have emergency access to the retail establishment’s employee restroom facility as required by this chapter, results in an injury to or death of the consumer or an individual other than an employee of the retail establishment who is accompanying the consumer in an area not usually accessible to the public, the retail establishment and the employee are immune from civil liability if the act or omission is not grossly negligent.
   2.  An employee restroom facility provided to consumers solely to comply with this section shall not be considered a public restroom for the purposes of laws or regulations that generally govern facilities available to the public, but shall instead be governed by the laws and regulations that otherwise govern the restroom facility if it were not made available to a consumer pursuant to this chapter. 
    Sec. 5.  NEW SECTION.  137E.5  Written documentation of eligible medical condition —— rules.
   1.  All of the following shall be accepted as written documentation of a consumer’s eligible medical condition:
   a.  A copy of a statement signed by a consumer’s health care professional that indicates the consumer has been formally diagnosed with an eligible medical condition.
   b.  An identification card issued by a nationally recognized health organization, approved by the department, that indicates the consumer has been formally diagnosed with an eligible medical condition.
   2.  The department shall develop a standard electronic form that may be used by a health care professional to provide the signed statement as described in subsection 1. The form shall include a brief description of the consumer’s rights under this chapter and shall be made available to the public electronically. This subsection shall not be construed to require the department to distribute printed versions of the form. 
   3.  The department shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 17A to administer this chapter. 
    Sec. 6.  NEW SECTION.  137E.6  Violations —— penalties.
   1.  A retail establishment or an employee of a retail establishment that does not comply with this chapter or refuses to provide a consumer emergency access to an employee restroom facility as required by this chapter violates this chapter and is subject to the penalties specified in this section.
   2.  a.  For a first violation of this section, the city or county attorney shall issue a warning letter to the retail establishment and to any employee of the retail establishment that denied emergency access to an employee restroom facility in violation of this chapter, informing the retail establishment and the employee of the retail establishment of the requirements of this chapter.
   b.  A retail establishment or an employee of a retail establishment that subsequently violates this chapter after receiving the warning letter pursuant to subsection 1 is subject to a civil penalty of two hundred dollars. 
   3.  A person who forges, alters, improperly transfers, or knowingly possesses and uses a forged or altered statement by a health care professional or an identification card is subject to a civil penalty of two hundred dollars.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill provides for emergency access to an employee restroom facility in retail establishments for individuals with eligible medical conditions.
   The bill creates a new Code chapter entitled the “Restroom Emergency Access Act”.
   The bill provides definitions for the purposes of the new Code chapter, including “eligible medical condition”, which includes Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, or any other inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome, any condition requiring the use of an ostomy device, and any other medical condition that requires immediate access to a restroom facility; “employee restroom facility”, “health care professional”, and “retail establishment”. 
   The bill requires a retail establishment that provides an employee restroom facility for its employees and does not normally make a restroom available to the public to allow a consumer emergency access to the employee restroom facility during normal business hours if the employee restroom facility is maintained in a reasonably safe manner and certain conditions are met. The conditions include that the consumer requesting emergency access to the employee restroom facility suffers from an eligible medical condition and provides written documentation of the consumer’s condition; a public restroom is not immediately accessible to the consumer; a sufficient number of employees are working at the time the consumer requests emergency access to the employee restroom facility; and the employee restroom facility is located in an area of the retail establishment that does not present an obvious risk to the health or safety of the consumer or an obvious security risk to the retail establishment. The bill does not require a retail establishment to make any physical changes or improvements to an employee restroom facility. The bill provides that if an act or omission of a retail establishment or an employee of a retail establishment, in allowing a consumer who claims to have an eligible medical condition emergency access to the retail establishment’s employee restroom facility as required by this chapter, results in an injury to or death of the consumer or an individual other than an employee of the retail establishment who is accompanying the consumer in an area not usually accessible to the public, the retail establishment and the employee are immune from civil liability if the act or omission is not grossly negligent. 
   An employee restroom facility provided to comply with the bill is not to be considered a public restroom for the purposes of laws or regulations that generally govern facilities available to the public, but shall instead be governed by the laws and regulations that otherwise govern the restroom facility if it were not made available to a consumer under the bill. 
   The bill provides for the types of written documentation that are acceptable under the bill and directs the department of public health (DPH) to develop a standard electronic form that may be used by a health care professional to provide the acceptable signed statement under the bill. The bill directs DPH to adopt administrative rules to administer the bill.
   Under the bill, a retail establishment or an employee of a retail establishment that does not comply with the bill or refuses to provide a consumer emergency access to an employee restroom facility as required by the bill violates the Code chapter. For a first violation, the city or county attorney shall issue a warning letter to the retail establishment and any employee of the retail establishment that denied emergency access in violation of the Code chapter, informing the retail establishment and the employee of the retail establishment of the requirements of this Code chapter. For a second or subsequent violation, the retail establishment or employee is subject to a civil penalty of $200. The bill also provides that a person who forges, alters, improperly transfers, or knowingly possesses and uses a forged or altered statement by a health care professional or an identification card is subject to a civil penalty of $200.