A friend of mine manages a retail store in a strip mall. The strip mall does not have any public bathrooms for the customers of the various stores to use. My friend said things have been going missing from their store bathroom and as a result, does not want to allow non-employees to use the restroom any longer. Her concern is that someone has told her there may be a local or state statute which will force her to allow them to use the bathroom, as the mall does not provide one.

Is there a way to find out if this is actual or not? I don't see why her store would be required to provide a restroom for numerous people who may or may not even be shopping at her store.

Mostly it depends on where you live. Some laws like in California have on the books that you can NOT refuse a pregnant woman if she needs to use the bathroom. But as far as general public in most cases it is fine. For some areas if you own an eating establishment or serve food to go you must have a bathroom available for the public. So again its up to the local laws of your area.

Does every othe business in the area have public restrooms? If there IS a statute, then they would all have to follow it. She can try talking to someone with the health department to see if they might have a better idea. Restrooms usually fall under their codes.

What state are you in?

We're in Wisconsin. She's not in the restaurant business, they sell clothing. She's just wondering what her legal option would be, if she can actually refuse them use of the bathroom or not.

Here there are signs posted that say "No Public Restroom". I guess if she posted the signs she'd be covered. No one here complains about this practice. You CAN ask, but don't expect to use their restroom either.

I'm shocked that the mall does not have any restrooms! What kind of a mall is this anyway? Is it "large" or is it "small"? There should be some sort of building code applicable here for a mall restroom. I'd jump all over the mall first.

There is a very simple solution for this. Go to your local building dept, chamber of commerce or local political representative and ask. This is general covered by local laws.

Here there are signs posted that say "No Public Restroom". I guess if she posted the signs she'd be covered. No one here complains about this practice. You CAN ask, but don't expect to use their restroom either.

I'm shocked that the mall does not have any restrooms!! What kind of a mall is this anyway? Is it "large" or is it "small"? There should be some sort of building code applicable here for a mall restroom. I'd jump all over the mall first.

A strip mall is usually an open air mall that is a small collection of stores that are in the same place and share a common parking lot.

Well this should answer the OP's question:

Assembly passes Restroom Access Act for those with intestinal disorders - JSOnline (http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/86694722.html)