Starting March 1, 2017, all single-user toilet facilities in any business establishment, place of public accommodation or government agency must be identified as “all-gender” toilet facilities. The law authorizes inspectors or other building or local officials responsible for code enforcement to inspect for compliance (Health and Safety Code sec. 118600).
Make sure your restroom sign has the right geometric symbol.
The recent White House action to rollback restroom protections for transgender students is unrelated to the restroom signage requirement for California businesses.
A “single-user toilet facility” is defined as “a toilet facility with no more than one water closet and one urinal with a locking mechanism controlled by the user.” Employers will need to check their signs for compliance.
There are two signs required to identify a restroom:
- A sign with the geometric symbol that identifies the restroom as male, female or unisex — the circle for women, the triangle for men, or the triangle superimposed on the circle for unisex. The unisex symbol of the triangle superimposed onto a circle is the only specific indicator required by the California Building Code
- A wall-mounted designation sign that identifies a permanent room or space to be provided for a toilet facility. This sign must be tactile (can be read by touch) and indicate that the facility is a restroom and whether the restroom is for men, women or unisex. These signs can use pictograms but the Building Code does not require the use of pictograms. While wall signs at restroom doorways may not be strictly required in every situation, hundreds of lawsuits have been filed that claimed lack of such signs. If you are unsure whether you are required to post a wall sign, get appropriate legal advice.