Bathroom Bill Moves Toward Vote in House
The law would require retailers to let people with certain medical conditions use employee bathrooms.
A state bill that would require retail stores to open their private bathrooms to people with certain medical conditions is making its way through the House and could be up for vote by the end of the session next month.
The measure would mandate that any retailer with at least two employees present grant bathroom access to people who carry a doctor's note for certain medical conditions like gastrointestinal disorders, or who have a colostomy bag. Violations would carry a fine of $100-$200. But the law would not require that retailers improve their facilities, and it would protect employees from lawsuits.
"We're optimistic that it will pass the House," said Ted Philips, the chief of staff for the bill's sponsor, Rep. Louis Kafka (D-Stoughton).
On Wednesday the House Committee on Steering Policy and Scheduling, which Kafka chairs, recommended that the Legislature pass the bill. Before that, the Joint Committee on Public Health recommended it. Now it's before the last group, the Committee on Bills in the Third Reading, before it is sent to the House for a vote.
Kafka first filed the bill in 2009 on behalf of one of his contituents in Sharon who has Crohn's disease. It passed the House in 2010 but died in the Senate, Philips said.
Paul Bishop
9:45 am on Wednesday, June 20, 2012
As a patient with Crohns, thank you. With these diseases, partial loss of bowel control is common. Nobody wants the consequences of a patient not having ready access to a bathroom.
As nice as the bill is however, it doesn't prevent the much worse action of an employer terminating an employee for developing this incurable genetic disease. In Mass, it's legal to do an end run around employment law... you can permanently LAY OFF the disabled, selecting them as higher overhead employees. It's how Fidelity Investments threw me to the wolves for getting this disease. Change the laws to make this illegal, and make Self-insured corporations illegal, due to the obvious vested interest in terminating disabled and potentially disabled employees.
I would much rather still be working or getting the disability policy I paid for, rather than the poverty level Social Security I must live on.
Quality Advantage
4:00 pm on Thursday, June 21, 2012
Bathrooms are part of everyones daily routine. As we get older these visits can become more frequent and more difficult. Quality Advantage takes pride in all facets of bathroom remodeling. From tub to shower conversions and Safety Tubs for seniors and the disabled to creating beautiful new looks in as little as just one day. For more information visit http://qahomeproducts.com
ken miller
7:14 am on Monday, June 25, 2012
All gas stations should be required to have restrooms for the publick