Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman YVONNE LOPEZ
District 19 (Middlesex)
Assemblywoman VALERIE VAINIERI HUTTLE
District 37 (Bergen)
SYNOPSIS
Requires access to certain single-occupancy restrooms regardless of gender identity.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning gender-based restroom restrictions, and amending P.L.1978, c.162.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 1 of P.L.1978, c.162 (C.26:4B-1) is amended to read as follows:
1. a. Any place of employment or of public accommodation which maintains public restrooms shall make available at least one-half of the units in each such restroom without charge and shall charge equally for the use of the remaining units regardless of whether they are designated for men [and] or women , or have no gender designation. Where a public restroom has only one unit, that unit shall be made available without charge.
b. Any place of employment or of public accommodation which maintains a public single-occupancy restroom shall permit a person to use the public single-occupancy restroom regardless of the person’s gender. A place of employment or of public accommodation shall remove any signage suggesting that the public single-occupancy restroom has a gender restriction.
c. For the purpose of [this act] P.L.1978, c.162 (C.26:4B-1 et seq.):
["unit" shall include only toilets and "one-half"] "One-half" means the number of units divided by two, but where such division results in a whole number and a fraction, "one-half" means said whole number.
"Public accommodation" means "a place of public accommodation," as defined in subsection l. of section 5 of P.L.1945, c.169 (C.10:5-5).
"Public single-occupancy restroom" means a public restroom maintained by a place of employment or public accommodation that either:
(1) contains only one toilet, without any urinals; or
(2) contains only one toilet and one urinal, without any barrier separating the toilet and the urinal.
"Unit" means a toilet or urinal.
(cf: P.L.1978, c.162, s.1)
2. This act shall take
effect immediately, but the new requirement concerning the removal of gender
restrictions on single-occupancy restrooms shall remain inoperative until the
first day of the second month next following enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill requires places of employment, and places of public accommodation such as restaurants and retail establishments, to permit a person to use a public single-occupancy restroom regardless of the person’s gender. The bill also requires places of employment and public accommodation to remove any signage suggesting that the public single-occupancy restroom has a gender restriction. The bill defines a "public single-occupancy restroom" as a public restroom maintained by a place of employment or public accommodation that either (1) contains only one toilet, without any urinals, or (2) contains only one toilet and one urinal, without any barrier separating the toilet and the urinal.
This bill also revises an existing requirement concerning restroom fees to provide that if a place of employment or public accommodation charges for the use of any restroom facilities, the charge shall be equal regardless of whether the facilities are restricted to men or women, or have no gender restriction.