Seattle has received more than 70 complaints of businesses in violation of its new all-gender restaurant ordinance, but notification letters have been enough to bring compliance in most cases.
Since Seattle began enforcing its new all-gender restroom ordinance earlier this year, the city has received more than 70 reports about businesses not complying.
The reports have been made by 33 different people, with some making multiple reports. No businesses have yet been fined.
Passed last year by Mayor Ed Murray and the City Council, the ordinance bans gender-specific single-occupant restrooms in city facilities and public establishments, such as bars, restaurants, movie theaters, museums, sports stadiums and hotels.
Violation reports under Seattle’s all-gender restroom ordinance
Total reports as of Aug. 12: 73
Resolved before advisory letters issued: 3
Resolved after advisory letters issued: 42
Resolved through finding of violation: 6
Not pursued due to lack of jurisdiction: 5
Not pursued due to lack of information: 1
Reports still open: 16
Source: Seattle Office of Civil Rights
And the ordinance requires that such establishments use signage indicating that their single-occupant restrooms are meant to be used by people of all genders.
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The main point of the ordinance, according to the Seattle Office of Civil Rights, is to improve restroom access for transgender individuals and people who consider themselves neither exclusively male or female.
“Despite existing protections on the basis of gender identity, transgender and gender nonconforming people often experience harassment, intimidation, refusal of access and, in some cases, violence” when trying to use gender-specific restrooms, the civil-rights office says in an explanation on its website.
The office began enforcing the ordinance on March 9, at the end of a 180-day waiting period during which it sent educational postcards to about 7,000 businesses.
One side of the postcards provided businesses with information about the ordinance. The other side showed a graphic of a toilet with the words “All-Gender Restroom,” and was meant to be used as a temporary sign.
The civil-rights office tried to reach every business in Seattle with restrooms available to the public, spokesman Elliott Bronstein said.
For now, the office’s enforcement is strictly complaint-based, and members of the public have three different ways to make reports. They can tweet #AllGenderRestroomSEA with a photo of the noncomplying signage and the name and location of the business, use a complaint form or call the office at 206-684-4500.
When the civil-rights office receives a report, it sends a letter advising the business to change its signage and provide photo evidence to the office that the change has been made.
The office tries to help businesses comply with the ordinance, said Mike Chin, an enforcement manager.
If the business doesn’t comply within 30 days of a letter being sent, the office issues a notice of violation, which can result in a fine of $125. But if the business complies within 15 days of the notice being issued, the office can waive the fine.
Seattle trans-rights activist Danni Askini, executive director of the Gender Justice League, said the ordinance has had a positive effect on the ability of transgender and gender-nonconforming people to feel safe. She said her organization hasn’t had any recent reports of people being harassed while trying to use restrooms.
“There’s been a significant improvement in access,” Askini said.
The civil-rights office had received 73 reports, as of last week, and had resolved 57 — three before advisory letters, 42 after sending advisory letters and six through the violation process.
Six reports had been dismissed for lacking jurisdiction or information. The city’s ordinance doesn’t cover state or federal government buildings.
There were 16 open reports, including two cases in which violations had been issued.
The greatest number of reports — 18 — had come from establishments in the City Council’s District 7, which includes downtown.
The establishments ranged from chain stores and restaurants such as Old Navy, DSW Shoe Warehouse, Petco and Einstein Bros. Bagels to mom-and-pop businesses such as Octopus Bar, Red Mill Burgers and RoRo BBQ.
Barbie Bumpus, who co-owns the barbecue joint on the border of Wallingford and Fremont, had the gendered signage outside RoRo’s single-occupant restrooms replaced with all-gender signage after receiving a postcard, she said. But someone made a report anyway because the restaurant hadn’t removed cowboy and cowgirl artwork from outside the restrooms.
The civil-rights office sent a letter advising RoRo to comply with the ordinance, which bothered Bumpus because she thought the business already had.
“It was frustrating,” she said. “They took the word of somebody off the street. They didn’t verify the information.”
According to the civil-rights office, artwork restricting a single-occupant restroom to a single gender is banned, and Bumpus ultimately agreed to take RoRo’s artwork down.
Chin, the enforcement manager, said the office has found fines unnecessary so far.
“What we’ve found is that some businesses are unaware of this new ordinance,” he said.
The office may consider new, proactive enforcement measures after presenting a six-month report to the council in September, Chin said.