SACRAMENTO, Aug. 16 (UPI) -- A proposed California law would require hotels and motels to equip housekeepers with special implements to avoid injuries from stooping to clean bathrooms.
State Senate Bill 432 would require innkeepers to provide hotel maids with long-handled cleaning tools so they will not have to stoop or squat to clean bathroom surfaces including floors and tubs, Business Law Daily reported Monday.
Democratic state Sen. Kevin de Leon of Los Angeles, who introduced the bill, said it is intended to prevent workplace injuries and the resulting workers' compensation claims.
Backers of the bill cite a 2010 study that found hotel workers have an injury rate 25 percent higher than all other service sector workers.
If the measure passes, the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board would determine standards related to long-handled cleaning tools by September 2012.
