Do businesses have to let you use their bathroom? | Call Kurtis

SACRAMENTO — Opera Singer Teddy Siegel said that she got caught having to go to the bathroom in New York City's Times Square, but places turned her away saying their restrooms were not public.

"I was out shopping with my sister, and I realized a little too late that I really had to go to the bathroom, and I had absolutely no idea what to do or where to go," Siegel said.

She created a social media account showing restrooms in New York City where you don't have to buy something to use them.

Here in California, we found a law that went into effect in 2022 called the Restroom Access Act .

It requires a place of business open to the public for the sale of goods that has a toilet facility for its employees to allow any individual who has an eligible medical condition or uses an ostomy device immediate access to a toilet facility, even if the place of business does not normally make the employee toilet facility available to the general public.

What is an eligible medical condition? The law specifically mentions Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, inflammatory bowel diseases and irritable bowel syndrome.

It also generically states, "any other medical condition that requires immediate access to a toilet facility."

The law allows a business to ask for "reasonable evidence."  That could be awkward, so the California Department of Public Health has a wallet-sized card you can download to fill out with your doctor .

For everyone else, Siegel has this advice:

"Try looking in department stores, grocery stores, libraries, bookstores, churches. Those are usually pretty safe bets that will allow you to use their restroom."

The punishment for a business not following California's law is at most a fine of $100.