On July 25, 2017, the Fair Employment Housing Council (FEHC) of the California Department of Fair Employment & Housing (DFEH) announced that it is proposing emergency regulations clarifying that the gender-neutral signage law does not apply to agriculture field sanitation units.

The proposed emergency regulation is designed to eliminate the conflict between DFEH rules (requiring gender-neutral signage on single-occupancy restrooms) and Cal/OSHA’s sanitation standard mandating that employers in certain industries, including agriculture, must provide employees with sanitary and available toilets facilities for each sex. The emergency regulation clarifies that ag’s field sanitation standard still prevails in the case of nonwater carriage disposal facilities.

The bathrooms to which this law applies are toilet facilities with no more than one water closet and one urinal, and with a locking mechanism controlled by the user. Employers and other covered entities with single-occupancy facilities under their control, including those found in agricultural business offices, must use gender-neutral signage for those facilities, such as “Restroom,” “Unisex,” “Gender Neutral,” “All Gender Restroom,” etc., and be universally accessible.   

For more information, contact Jason Resnick at (949) 885-2253.