On December 13, 2016, Eric J. Conn and Jordan Schwartz of Conn Maciel Carey’s national Labor and Employment and OSHA Practices, for a complimentary webinar regarding Employee Access to Sanitary Bathrooms, ADA Accessibility, and Transgender Bathrooms. 
Although not historically a hotbed of OSHA / Employment law activity, access to bathrooms by both employees and members of the public has become a high profile issue of late. OSHA has always required employers to provide employees with prompt access to sanitary toilet facilities, to minimize adverse health risks. Recently, however, OSHA and other federal, state and local authorities began to prohibit discriminatory practices with regard to restroom access based on the principle that individuals have the right to use facilities consistent with their gender identity. There are also a host of requirements under the Americans with Disabilities Act that must be met for a bathroom to be considered accessible and usable by an individual with a disability. This webinar reviewed the requirements in these areas, and provided specific strategies to address this new and complex area of the law.
Participants in this complimentary webinar learned about the following:
- OSHA rules regarding accessibility to bathroom facilities and sanitation issues
- Transgender workplace obligations
- Federal Agency Interpretations of Title VII to include discrimination based on gender identity or transgender status
- State laws regarding discriminatory practices in regard to restroom access
- Best practices for overcoming typical bathroom ADA accessibility issues
Here is a link to recording of the webinar. If you missed any of our prior OSHA webinars, here is a link Conn Maciel Carey’s Webinar Archive.
This was the final webinar event in Conn Maciel Carey’s 2016 OSHA Webinar Series. Plan to join us for future OSHA webinars in our annual series of monthly, complimentary OSHA webinars.
Accommodating gender identity over our biographical makeup means you insult the many for a few. This is the nature of socialism, not democracy. You will soon have to change your position.
Thanks for the note, Peter. We offer no position on that issue whatsoever. We are merely advising interested stakeholders about the current state of the law so they may make informed decisions about how to operate their workplaces.
Eric,
Thank you for your reply. I realize you must enforce the law, however this is still in the courts and yet to be determined as Constitutional, so I question why you are pushing this item over other established laws?
Peter
Peter, you are confusing my practice with the agency before which I practice. I defend employers in their dealings with OSHA. I do not enforce any laws or regulations.