BILL NUMBER:S4918

TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the public health law, in relation to
enacting the Crohn's and colitis fairness act

PURPOSE:

To make toilet facilities that are for employee use only, in places of
business open to the general public, accessible to those who have an
eligible medical condition such as Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis,
or other medical conditions that require immediate access to a bathroom.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section one provides that this act shall be known and may be cited as
"The Crohn's and Colitis Fairness Act."

Section two amends the public health law by adding a new article 19.

Section 1900 of article nineteen provides the definition for "eligible
medical condition." Section 1901 of article nineteen provides that a
place of business that is open to the general public and has a toilet
facility for its employees shall allow a person who is lawfully on the
premises during normal business hours access to the employee toilet
facility as long as the person requesting use of the employee toilet has
an eligible medical condition or utilizes an ostomy device, provided
              

that the place of business may require the individual to present reason-
able evidence that he or she has an eligible medical condition or uses
an ostomy device; two or more employees of the place of business are
working at the time the individual requests use of the employee toilet
facility; the place of business does not normally make the employee
toilet facility available to the public; the employee toilet facility is
located in at area where there would be no obvious health safety or
security risk; use of the toilet facility would not create an obvious
health or safety risk to the requesting individual; and a public rest-
room is not immediately accessible to the requesting person

Section 1902 of article nineteen provides that a place of business open
to the public for the sale of goods or services is not required to make
physical changes to its employee toilet facility.

Section three provides the effective date.

JUSTIFICATION:

Increasing numbers of people are being diagnosed with inflammatory bowel
diseases. It is estimated that over 600,000 Americans suffer from
Crohn's disease alone, which is an ongoing disorder of the gastrointes-
tinal tract It causes swelling of the intestines, creating pain and
diarrhea. People who suffer from such diseases often need urgent and
sudden access to a toilet facility.

In Illinois, a teenaged girl named Ally Bain, who has Crohn's disease,
had a humiliating incident in public when she was denied access to an
employee-only restroom. She was, bravely, instrumental in the passage of
Illinois's Restroom Access Act, also known as Ally's Law. In addition to
Illinois, fourteen other states have passed the Restroom Access Act:
Texas, Wisconsin, Connecticut, Minnesota, Michigan, Washington, Tennes-
see, Colorado, Ohio, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, and
Oregon.

This legislation creates a compassionate system for those who suffer
from gastrointestinal diseases by making it possible for those who have
an eligible medical condition, as defined in the bill, to have access to
an employee-only toilet facility in a place of business that is already
open to the public when there are at least two employees working at the
time of the request, and using that facility would not create a health,
safety, or security risk.

This legislation would not create any additional cost to businesses as
they are not required to alter their toilet facility. Also, a business
would not be required to provide access to their toilet facility when
another facility is immediately accessible to the requesting person.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

S.4803-A of 2014.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after it
shall have become law, provided that the addition, amendment and/or
repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of
this act on its effective date are authorized and directed to be made
and completed on or before such effective date.