P-035 Reasons that Retail Store Managers Deny Employee Restroom Access to Individuals with Inflammatory Bowel Disease that Have Urgent Medical Concerns

Abstract

Restroom Access legislation provides individuals with inflammatory bowel disease and other medical needs access to employee bathrooms in retail stores. This law has been passed by 14 state legislatures and rejected by one. Washington, DC does not have restroom access legislation. However, this jurisdiction neighbors a state that has passed restroom access legislation and a state that has rejected the legislation. The reasons for lack of passage are uncertain. This study surveyed retail store managers in Washington, DC about employee bathroom access for individuals with medical needs. Managers of Washington, DC retail stores with dedicated employee bathrooms were surveyed. Stores within one mile of a university medical center were included in the survey. All stores open during the surveying period were included. There were no exclusion factors. The store type, manager gender and age, bathroom access for individuals with medical needs and reasons for denial of bathroom access were obtained. A database, maintaining retail store and manager confidentiality, was created. Qualitative evaluation and quantitative analysis using Fisher Exact test with significance set at P < 0.05 were performed. The study was approved by the university Institutional Review Board. Thirty-one managers (16 male, 15 female; most frequent age 20-30) of stores with employee bathrooms were surveyed. There were 13 clothing stores, 5 food specialty stores, 5 shoe stores, 3 health and beauty stores, 3 convenience stores and 2 antique/art stores. Twenty-four of 31 managers (77.4%; 13 male, 11 female) indicated that they could not allow an individual with medical needs access to an employee bathroom. Twenty-two of 24 (92%) managers indicated that corporate or store policy restricted restroom use. Additionally, 13 managers (54%) expressed concerns about safety, 10 (42%) about property loss, 1 (4%) about the potential for abuse, and 1 (4%) about the potential of affecting their “high end clientele”. The managers' gender and age did not influence the rate that policy (P = 1.000), safety (P = 0.1228 and P = 0.1942) or property loss (P = 1.000) was stated to be the reason for denial of restroom access. There was no difference in the rate at which managers of clothing stores compared to other stores stated that policy (P = 1.000), safety (P = 0.4622) or property loss (P = 0.4521) was the reason for denial of restroom access. Restroom Access Laws provide individuals with inflammatory bowel disease and other medical conditions emergency access to employee bathrooms in retail stores. However, there is not universal acceptance of this legislation. This survey revealed that store policy was the primary reason given for denial of restroom access. Further questioning discovered that concerns about safety and property loss most often influenced store policy. The managers' gender, age and the type of store did not influence emergency restroom access. This study is important because it offers insight into factors that can affect restroom access for individuals with medical needs. Understanding the reasons for denial of access to restrooms has the potential to assist in developing legislation that will address retail store concerns.