On the heels of North Carolina’s controversial legislation, which requires that people use the public restroom that corresponds to their biological gender rather than the gender with which they identify, California has gone in a different direction.
On September 29, 2016, California Gov. Jerry Brown signed A.B. 1732, which requires all single-user restroom facilities in any business establishment, place of public accommodation, or government agency to be identified as “all gender” facilities rather than being designated as male- or female- only. The law authorizes public inspectors or building officials to inspect facilities for compliance with this law.
This bill will be codified as Section 118600 of the California Health and Safety Code.
The new law goes into effect March 1, 2017. Businesses should immediately look into whether their single-occupancy restrooms need to be re-designated in compliance with the new law.
