The above sign was spotted in a roadside rest area in restroom, maintained by the state of Wisconsin.
Other public places could do the same.
This may be a response to a 2016 ruling a woman’s chemical sensitivity was a disability under the American’s with Disabilities Act (ADA) because it interfered with the major life activity of breathing.
The link in the above paragraph outlines accommodations employers may need to make in the workplace for those with fragrance allergies, which go so far as to ask or require other employees to abstain from wearing or using scented products.
I remember when smoking cigarettes was first banned in public places and now it is widespread. So I am optimistic the same will happen with fragrance.
I saw this when I was visiting Wisconsin earlier this month and was thrilled!
Thanks for posting this. Two people sent me photos of this sign. I was amazed and thrilled. I’ve been trying to find out the impetus for this new policy. I contacted the Wisconsin DOT via FB but did not get a response.
I am currently dealing with air fresheners in the bathrooms of a hospital that I frequent for a variety of reasons. They were going to remove one of the wall-mounted air fresheners from one bathroom a couple months ago but so far they haven’t. I dealt with someone (who was not aware of MCS or anyone who had issues with fragrances!?) in risk management at the hospital in question. There was no patient advocate.
I was told that there are no fragrance policies even for those who deal with patients directly. I can’t believe rest stops have this signage but hospitals are not required to have any fragrance policy. I looked through the Joint Commission website and found nothing on fragrance.
Well we have a long way to go with this. I’ll be addressing this issue further after I launch my new website (hopefully by the end of September).
Meanwhile, here’s a great page at Healthcare Without Harm on how healthcare facilities can eliminate fragrances. Pass it around.