Bill Text: NY A08541 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relates to access to certain restroom facilities by employees of a utility entity who is on duty providing utility-related services; provides that a place of business shall not be immune from certain liabilities resulting from such use; defines "employee of a utility entity".

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-29 - substituted by s8064 [A08541 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A08541-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          8541

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                     January 8, 2024
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by M. of A. WALLACE -- read once and referred to the Commit-
          tee on Consumer Affairs and Protection

        AN ACT to amend the general business  law,  in  relation  to  access  to
          certain restroom facilities by employees of a utility entity

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Section 399-k of the general business law, as  added  by  a
     2  chapter  of  the laws of 2023 relating to permitting employees of public
     3  utilities access to certain restroom facilities without being  a  paying
     4  customer,  as proposed in legislative bills numbers S. 5444 and A. 6978,
     5  is amended to read as follows:
     6    § 399-k. Access to [restroom] toilet facilities for  utility  workers.
     7  1.  A place of business open to the general public for the sale of goods
     8  or services that has a toilet facility for its employees shall allow any
     9  individual who is lawfully on the premises of  such  place  of  business
    10  [while performing a utility related service] to use that toilet facility
    11  during  normal  business  hours,  even if the place of business does not
    12  normally make the employee toilet  facility  available  to  the  public,
    13  provided that all of the following conditions are met:
    14    a.  the  individual requesting the use of the employee toilet facility
    15  is an employee of a [public utility company or a public  utility  corpo-
    16  ration  as  defined  in  section  two of the public service law] utility
    17  entity who is on duty providing utility-related services at the time  of
    18  the  request,  provided that the place of business may require the indi-
    19  vidual to present reasonable evidence that the individual is an employee
    20  of [such public] a utility entity;
    21    b. two or more employees of the place of business are working  at  the
    22  time the individual requests use of the employee toilet facility;
    23    c.  the  employee  toilet  facility  is  not  located in an area where
    24  providing access would create an obvious health or safety  risk  to  the
    25  requesting  individual or create a security risk to the people, or prop-
    26  erty within the place of business;
    27    d. use of the toilet facility would not create an  obvious  health  or
    28  safety risk to the requesting individual; and

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD07109-02-4
        A. 8541                             2

     1    e.  a  public restroom is not immediately accessible to the requesting
     2  individual.
     3    2.  A  violation of the provisions of this section shall be punishable
     4  by a  civil  penalty  not  to  exceed  five  hundred  dollars  for  each
     5  violation.
     6    3. [Businesses] A place of business shall not be  liable for any inju-
     7  ries  which  result  from  toilet  facility  use by [utility workers] an
     8  employee of a utility entity, provided that this subdivision  shall  not
     9  be  interpreted, or construed, as a limit on liability for acts of gross
    10  negligence or for willful or malicious failure  to  guard,  or  to  warn
    11  against, a dangerous condition, use, structure or activity.
    12    4.  For purposes of this section, "employee of a utility entity" means
    13  an employee of a "utility company" or "public utility company"  as  such
    14  terms  are defined in section two of the public service law, a municipal
    15  corporation that provides public  utility  services,  a  rural  electric
    16  cooperative, or a state public authority that provides utility services,
    17  or  an  employee  of  a  contractor  that  is  providing utility-related
    18  services for any of the aforementioned entities.
    19    § 2. This act shall take effect on the  same  date  and  in  the  same
    20  manner as a chapter of the laws of 2023 relating to permitting employees
    21  of  public utilities access to certain restroom facilities without being
    22  a paying customer, as proposed in legislative bills numbers S. 5444  and
    23  A.  6978, takes effect.