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Question: Who Can Legally Use the Disabled-Access Toilet Stall?

By Bruce Carton

The gloves have come off at the Dear Abby column over the issue of when and whether people who are not disabled can use the handicap stall in the bathroom. It all started back on May 1, when "Jennifer in Maine," a "plus-size woman who finds it difficult to squeeze into a tiny restroom stall" said she frequently used the stall for people with disabilities -- to her mother's horror -- because it's larger. Jennifer asked Abby whether it was true that "the large stalls should be treated the same as parking places for people with disabilities and used only by those who are disabled." Abby replied that because Jennifer had difficulty fitting into a regular stall, she saw nothing wrong with using the larger one so long as there was no one in a wheelchair, for example, also needing to use it. This brought out a barrage of comments and letters from Abby's readers in yesterday's column (via Consumerist) who clearly disagreed on the law/etiquette governing the handicap stall. "Barbara in San Luis Obispo," who may or may not specialize in bathroom law, opined that while handicapped parking spaces are legally reserved for people who have a disability, "handicapped...

Full post as published by Legal Blog Watch on July 02, 2010 (boomark / email).