Bill Description: House Bill 546 would require businesses to allow non-employees with certain medical conditions to use employee-only restrooms.
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Does it give government any new, additional, or expanded power to prohibit, restrict, or regulate activities in the free market? Conversely, does it eliminate or reduce government intervention in the market?
House Bill 546 would create Chapter 21, Title 48, Idaho Code, and title it the “Restroom Access Act.” This bill would require a “place of business open to the general public for the sale of goods or services” that has an employee-only restroom, and no public restroom, to allow customers to use the employee-only restroom if the customer suffers from an eligible medical condition as defined in the bill.
The bill contains a few exceptions, including situations where providing access to the employee-only restroom “would create an obvious health or safety risk to the customer or an obvious security risk to the establishment.”
Non-compliance with the law would be criminalized as a misdemeanor.
This bill would expand government regulations and violate property rights. And it isn’t necessary, because even without this law, simply due to basic compassion and a desire to avoid reputational harm, most businesses would likely make an exception to their employee-only restroom policy for someone in an extreme situation or medical emergency.
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