§ 399-k. Access to toilet facilities for utility workers. 1. A place
of business open to the general public for the sale of goods or services
that has a toilet facility for its employees shall allow any individual
who is lawfully on the premises of such place of business to use that
toilet facility during normal business hours, even if the place of
business does not normally make the employee toilet facility available
to the public, provided that all of the following conditions are met:

a. the individual requesting the use of the employee toilet facility
is an employee of a utility entity who is on duty providing
utility-related services at the time of the request, provided that the
place of business may require the individual to present reasonable
evidence that the individual is an employee of a utility entity;

b. two or more employees of the place of business are working at the
time the individual requests use of the employee toilet facility;

c. the employee toilet facility is not located in an area where
providing access would create an obvious health or safety risk to the
requesting individual or create a security risk to the people, or
property within the place of business;

d. use of the toilet facility would not create an obvious health or
safety risk to the requesting individual; and

e. a public restroom is not immediately accessible to the requesting
individual.

2. A violation of the provisions of this section shall be punishable
by a civil penalty not to exceed five hundred dollars for each
violation.

3. A place of business shall not be liable for any injuries which
result from toilet facility use by an employee of a utility entity,
provided that this subdivision shall not be interpreted, or construed,
as a limit on liability for acts of gross negligence or for willful or
malicious failure to guard, or to warn against, a dangerous condition,
use, structure or activity.

4. For purposes of this section, "employee of a utility entity" means
an employee of a "utility company" or "public utility company" as such
terms are defined in section two of the public service law, a municipal
corporation that provides public utility services, a rural electric
cooperative, or a state public authority that provides utility services,
or an employee of a contractor that is providing utility-related
services for any of the aforementioned entities.