N.Y. General Business Law § 399-k: Access to toilet facilities for utility workers

§ 399-k. Access to toilet facilities for utility workers. 1. A place

of business open to the general public for the sale of goods or services

that has a toilet facility for its employees shall allow any individual

who is lawfully on the premises of such place of business to use that

toilet facility during normal business hours, even if the place of

business does not normally make the employee toilet facility available

to the public, provided that all of the following conditions are met:

a. the individual requesting the use of the employee toilet facility

is an employee of a utility entity who is on duty providing

utility-related services at the time of the request, provided that the

place of business may require the individual to present reasonable

evidence that the individual is an employee of a utility entity;

b. two or more employees of the place of business are working at the

time the individual requests use of the employee toilet facility;

c. the employee toilet facility is not located in an area where

providing access would create an obvious health or safety risk to the

requesting individual or create a security risk to the people, or

property within the place of business;

d. use of the toilet facility would not create an obvious health or

safety risk to the requesting individual; and

e. a public restroom is not immediately accessible to the requesting

individual.

2. A violation of the provisions of this section shall be punishable

by a civil penalty not to exceed five hundred dollars for each

violation.

3. A place of business shall not be liable for any injuries which

result from toilet facility use by an employee of a utility entity,

provided that this subdivision shall not be interpreted, or construed,

as a limit on liability for acts of gross negligence or for willful or

malicious failure to guard, or to warn against, a dangerous condition,

use, structure or activity.

4. For purposes of this section, "employee of a utility entity" means

an employee of a "utility company" or "public utility company" as such

terms are defined in section two of the public service law, a municipal

corporation that provides public utility services, a rural electric

cooperative, or a state public authority that provides utility services,

or an employee of a contractor that is providing utility-related

services for any of the aforementioned entities.