While the need to use the toilet is as universal as the need for food, clothing and shelter, policies guiding the provision of public restrooms are almost wholly lacking.   

The Federal Public Restroom Requirements Initiative calls for regulation to project the health of all American. 

The American Restroom Association has identified a regulatory gap and a remedy which requires no new legislation. This is what I would like to discuss with you.   Let me summarize the facts.

The US Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) provides the necessary regulations to ensure that Americans will not suffer the adverse health effects that can result if toilets are not available at their places of work.  The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), however, provides no similar regulation or even guidance to protect Americans outside the workplace. 

This lack of federal recognition makes it easy for  schools to prevent students from using the lavatories; for municipalities to close public restrooms; for transit systems to put their amenities off limits to passengers; and for airlines to deny passengers the use of toilets throughout certain flights.

Currently there appear to be no HHS regulations or guidance-based recognition that lack of access to restrooms is a serious health issue.  Since HHS has the mandate to protect the health of all Americans, the Association wants HHS to address this issue at least the degree it has been addressed by OHSA.    

In launching the Federal Public Restroom Requirements Initiative, the Association is not  calling for new legislation, only that an existing mandate be met.   They are asking US citizens to bring the issue to the attention of their Congressional Representatives and Senators.

For a thorough discussion of the issues see the American Restroom Association study entitled “US Public Health Mandates and the Restroom Problem in America: A Call To Action.”    A slide presentation of the same title is a concise introduction to the paper presented to the 2007 World Toilet Summit in Delhi, India.

Restroom availability depends on more consistent policies at the local, state and federal levels.

In a few areas of life, there is strong legal protection for the rights of restroom users.  In the workplace, OSHA requires adequate restroom facilities for employees. In food establishments, the law requires restrooms for customers and employees.   For special events, local regulations require portable sanitary facilities. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) offers protection to disabled people in retail establishments and in local and state government facilities.

In other areas, legislation is weak or non-existent; these include public transit systems, pedestrian and cyclist commuter routes and office buildings that receive visitors.  In fact, one has to look far afield to find a city with a sound, transparent public restroom policy;  Christchurch, New Zealand is one of these. 

Citizens trying to determine guidelines for public restroom use usually turn to county health officials or law enforcement.   According to Robert Brubraker of the American Restroom Association, one place to start is with building codes.   While this national advocacy group focuses primarily on conveniently-located public toilets to serve pedestrians, joggers, cyclists and transit riders, they are also studying issues of public access to toilets inside privately-owned buildings.

Building codes guide restroom construction and affect availability.

Throughout the United States, building codes specify the number and placement of common toilets. The American Restroom Association is working on the legislative and regulatory fronts to ensure that restrooms in commercial buildings provide the required public access to restrooms.   They are looking at commercial code enforcement. This applies to all “buildings of public assembly”, or “mercantile establishments”.  This means any building where the public has access for any commercial reason; any building where business of any kind takes place, whether or not a transaction is completed.  The issue is building-related, not related to health or other codes. 

Consequently, there should be public restroom access in any commercial building. As American Restroom Association spokesperson Robert Brubaker explains, “When you as a member of public are in a commercial establishment and ask an employee for a rest room and hear ‘we don’t have public restrooms’ or ‘our toilet is out of order’, this should raise a red flag.  This is the time to persevere and make a complaint.   It is through official complaints to commercial code enforcement officers that action happens.” 

 The section of the building code that applies to toilet facilities is the plumbing code.  Individual states follow one of three code models: the International Plumbing Code, or IPC; the Uniform Plumbing Code, or UPC; or the National Standard Plumbing Code, or NSPC.  These codes are set by three associations whose members include government officials and building experts.   The associations meet every five years or so to amend the code with improved specifications.     Oregon and most of the states in the West use the UPC. In Oregon, the UPC applies state-wide. The Uniform Plumbing Code defines restroom requirements and provides rules for access as well as for construction and plumbing.

Building codes and other commercial codes are essentially the same in California and Oregon. The head of building codes in California recently broadened the definition of customer. When you are legitimately in a store looking at goods, you are a customer whether you buy anything or not.  While in the store you may realize that you need to use the bathroom; therefore, the store needs to provide the use of their facility.    

Here’s how the enforcement mechanism works:   While the Code is typically adopted at the state level, Building Code is most often enforced at the local level. Violation is often an administrative matter (i.e. not criminal) and is typically handled by a Municipal Commercial Building Code Enforcement Office.  A complaint leads to an inspection of the facility.  Any Code violations found may lead to warnings, fines or the closing of the business until the violation is resolved.   Municipal commercial code enforcement persons prefer citing violations they can inspect.  They typically lack the interest or forte to follow up on a ‘not allowed to use’ complaint.   Businesses have been effective in deeming homeless individuals as non-customers and therefore denying them the access enshrined in the building codes. 

The town of Arlington Heights, Illinois has leveraged the building code to establish local regulations which deem it unlawful to deny public use of bathrooms in businesses, hotels, restaurants and even public schools regardless whether or not someone purchases anything.   Municipal employees regularly explain the law to retailers after people register complaints about being denied restroom use. If a business doesn’t comply, it faces fines up to $750.

It should be noted that establishments that serve food have an additional set of regulations beyond those that apply to buildings.  Regulations regarding restaurant restrooms are related to health codes because food handlers and diners need restrooms with adequate hot water hand washing facilities.

As the American Restroom Association advocates for code reform, Brubaker reports a movement to require signage of toilets and directional signs to toilets at various points within a building.  In the most recent code amendment cycle, a very comprehensive toilet signage provision was considered as an “emergency temporary interim measure”.  In a partial success, the amendment passed on merit but it could not be put into effect because it was not considered a emergency.    Toilet signage regulations remain a promising area for code changes.  A related development in the IPC deals with the plumbing portion of the building code.