What, if any, businesses are required to provide toilet facilities to their customers in Pennsylvania? What about pay toilets? Are they illegal? What about other states?
I know of at least one pay toilet in Massachusetts but there are probably more. They basically just went out of style in the 1970’s because they are tacky as hell and people tend to vandalize them more. I think there was an experiment in Boston to have some self-contained, self-cleaning toilet units in Boston a few years ago. They have some of those in France as well and they cost money.
I think it almost universal in state laws for places that sell ready to eat food to have restrooms available. In my travels, it is rare for places that serve food and drinks not to have free restrooms if not unheard of.
You’re looking for Pennsylvania state law, right?
35 P.L. § 5820.3 (passed in 1990) states that “Publicly and privately owned facilities where the public congregates shall be equipped with sufficient temoprary or permanent restrooms to meet the needs of the public at peak hours. More water closets and lavatories shall be provided for women than for men by a ratio determined by the department.”
It was repealed in 1999 by P.L. 491, No. 45 § 1102(a), and it seems that nothing replaced it.
It’s fairly common in NYC.
(there, now it’s not “unheard of.”)
Let’s distinguish between places which merely sell ready-to-eat food, and those which also offer an area with tables and chairs where customers can sit down and eat it. Are you saying that it is fairly common even for those?
I don’t know if it is fairly common, but there is at least one Starbuck’s that didn’t. IIRC, it was at the SW corner of third ave. and 23rd.