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The State of Minnesota’s Restroom Access Act, MN Stat. 325E.60, requires that businesses allow customers with certain medical conditions to use their restroom. These medical conditions include Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, any other inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome, or any other medical condition that requires immediate access to a restroom facility. If your establishment has an employee-only restroom and does not have a public restroom, you must allow a customer access to that bathroom, as an accommodation based on their disability.
A business is allowed to refuse this request if there are less than three employees working at the time of the request or providing restroom access will create an obvious security risk to the establishment. Violations of the Restroom Access Act will result first in a warning letter. Second violations are a petty misdemeanor and fines may be applied. The Restroom Access Act is only one page long, and is included in full below – take a read for more information. Refusing to provide a reasonable accommodation to a customer with a disability may also result in a violation of Chapter 183 of the Saint Paul Human Rights Ordinance. Thanks to the City of Saint Paul’s Human Rights and Equal Economic Opportunity (HREEO) for helping to formulate this summary. 2017 Minnesota Statutes 325E.60 RESTROOM ACCESS Subdivision 1. Short title. This section may be cited as the Restroom Access Act. Subd. 2. Definitions. For purposes of this section: (a) "Customer" means an individual who is lawfully on the premises of a retail establishment. (b) "Eligible medical condition" means Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, any other inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome, or any other medical condition that requires immediate access to a restroom facility. (c) "Retail establishment" means a place of business open to the general public for the sale of goods or services. Retail establishment does not include a filling station or service station with a structure of 800 square feet or less that has an employee restroom facility located within that structure. Subd. 3. Retail establishment; customer access to restroom facilities. A retail establishment that has a restroom facility for its employees shall allow a customer to use that facility during normal business hours if the restroom facility is reasonably safe and all of the following conditions are met: (1) the customer requesting the use of the employee restroom facility suffers from an eligible medical condition or uses an ostomy device, provided that the existence of the condition or device is documented in writing by the customer's physician or a nonprofit organization whose purpose includes serving individuals who suffer from the condition; (2) three or more employees of the retail establishment are working at the time the customer requests use of the employee restroom facility; (3) the retail establishment does not normally make a restroom available to the public; (4) the employee restroom facility is not located in an area where providing access would create an obvious health or safety risk to the customer or an obvious security risk to the establishment; and (5) a public restroom is not immediately accessible to the customer. Subd. 4. Liability. (a) A retail establishment or an employee of a retail establishment is not civilly liable for an act or omission in allowing a customer who claims to have an eligible medical condition to use an employee restroom facility that is not a public restroom if the act or omission: (1) is not negligent; (2) occurs in an area of the retail establishment that is not accessible to the public; and (3) results in an injury to or death of the customer or an individual other than an employee accompanying the customer. (b) This section does not require a retail establishment to make any physical changes to an employee restroom facility. Subd. 5. Violation. For a first violation of this section, the city or county attorney shall issue a warning letter to the retail establishment or employee informing the establishment or employee of the requirements of this section. A retail establishment or an employee of a retail establishment that violates this section after receiving a warning letter is guilty of a petty misdemeanor. The fine for a first offense must not exceed $50. History: 2007 c 135 art 2 s 31
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Don’t miss the biggest event of the season! Join the Saint Paul Area Chamber of Commerce for the 2017 Chamber Honors on Thursday, November 2, and toast to East Metro businesses that are excelling in our community. Mix and mingle with award nominees and business leaders, and raise a glass in celebration of excellence in business and leadership.
Deubener Awards will be presented to five organizations that exemplify growth, excellence, risk, diversity, and innovation. The award winners are selected by a panel of judges and will be announced live by last year’s award recipients. This event is a great opportunity to network with fellow business leaders and spark up new conversations. The Deubeners were the proprietors of a grocery store in downtown Saint Paul and invented the first shopping bag with handles, which increased the store’s business overnight. The couple eventually sold their store and established manufacturing facilities in Saint Paul, with sales in 1919 totaling 1 million bags. After the winners are announced, enjoy a champagne toast and dessert before heading downstairs to the Ox Cart Ale House for the after party! Check out this year’s award finalists: Emerging Business OPTIMIZE SOCIAL MEDIA Optimize Social Media provides revolutionary social media management solutions. They are experts in social media marketing specializing in reputation management, content marketing, and social media branding. PAUL DAVIS RESTORATION OF GREATER ST. PAUL Paul Davis Restoration of Greater St. Paul is part of a national franchise that provides services to repair and clean up damage to residential, commercial and institutional properties from storm, water, mold, fire, or other disasters. THE POWER HOUSE AT HIGHLAND The Power House at Highland is a family-owned and family-run gym that provides CrossFit classes, yoga, Pilates, mobility classes, kettlebells, special workshops, and personal training. Family-Owned Business HED CYCLING PRODUCTS HED Cycling Products is a manufacturer of premium quality bicycle wheels and components. HED prides itself on being U.S.-operated with most of its manufacturing and assembly work done in their U.S. factory. J&J DISTRIBUTING Founded in 1978, J&J Distributing provides grocers with daily deliveries of fresh-cut produce prepackaged for convenience. They operate in an innovative, 100,000 square-foot warehouse with 200 dedicated employees. MUELLER MEMORIAL Mueller Memorial Funeral Home and Cremation Services is proud to be family-owned. They are committed to dignified, personal service –from pre-planning a funeral to facilitating a memorial service. Nonprofit Service Business BRIDGING Since 1987, and nearly 50,000 square feet later, Bridging is the largest furniture bank in North America. Bridging improves lives by providing quality furniture and household goods to those transitioning out of homelessness and poverty. MINNESOTA CHILDREN’S MUSEUM Minnesota Children’s Museum is dedicated to sparking children’s learning through play. The museum is consistently rated as one of the top children’s museums in the country by national media outlets such as Forbes and Parents. SPRINGBOARD FOR THE ARTS Springboard for the Arts is an economic and community development organization for artists and by artists. They believe in creating simple, practical solutions and systems to support artists. For-Profit Service Business CHOWGIRLS KILLER CATERING Chowgirls Killer Catering is a women-owned, award-winning catering company serving weddings, social and corporate events at a variety of locations. They use high-quality, fresh, and locally sourced food, crafted with respect for the environment. EVOLVE SYSTEMS Evolve Systems specializes in two business verticals; website development and merchant processing, which often intersect in ecommerce websites and online payment solutions or logistics. GARDNER BUILDERS Gardner Builders is a hospitality company in the commercial construction business. They are a general contractor focused on delivering projects – both simple and complex – in a way that gives clients complete confidence. Women/Minority-Owned Business AFRO DELI Afro Deli is owned and operated by a Somali American business owner and offers African, Mediterranean and American cuisine. It is a socially responsible restaurant that weaves together business with community and culture. GOODMANSON CONSTRUCTION Goodmanson Construction is a family-owned and operated business. It was founded in 1971 and has commercial and residential customers in the Twin Cities, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, and Nebraska. MIDPOINTE EVENT CENTER Midpointe Event Center’s mission is to create a safe, unique and unforgettable space for life’s most exciting celebrations. They have hosted and celebrated a wide range of events from cultures all over the world. Guest blog post by Tony Lusiba, Upvant
National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM), designed by the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), is an annual campaign to raise awareness about the importance of cybersecurity and take steps to stay safe online. Cybersecurity Threats doesn’t just affect big companies like Equifax, Target or Home Depot. Small and Medium sized businesses face a constantly evolving set of potential threats as well, from data security breaches to downtime from unexpected events. Below is a summary of 17 actionable steps any CEO or business unit leader can do to protect their small or medium sized business from a Cybersecurity attack. The full report can be downloaded here: https://goo.gl/4tmjeQ
Download the full report here: https://goo.gl/4tmjeQ Let us help We provide Cyber Security Assessments done by a certified Cyber Security IT Professional using industry accepted cyber security practices. Contact us by visiting: http://www.upvant.com/contact-us/ or calling 844.6.UPVANT to get started. |
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