The trucking trade group The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) is throwing its weight behind a bipartisan bill in Congress that would ensure that truckers have access to restroom facilities when they are picking up or delivering cargo, saying the move is necessary to support the trucking industry’s efforts to bring more women into the workforce.
The legislation in question is H.R. 3869, first introduced in the U.S. House in 2023 by U.S. Representatives Troy Nehls (R-TX) and Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA). Cosponsors include Representatives Brian Babin (R-TX-36) and Hillary Scholten (D-MI-03).
According to OOIDA, the legislation would:
- Require retailers, warehouses, and other businesses to give truckers access to bathroom facilities when they are picking up cargo or making deliveries.
- Not require businesses to construct new restrooms; it only requires that if a business has a restroom available to their customers or employees, truckers should have the same access.
- Require the operators of ports and terminals to provide bathroom access to drayage drivers.
Additional support for the policy comes from the American Trucking Associations (ATA), the Women In Trucking Association, She Trucking, and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT).
“Over 70% of America’s freight is exclusively carried by trucks, yet every single day men and women truck drivers are forced to ‘hold it’ because they aren’t allowed access to the restroom when picking up or delivering freight,” Todd Spencer, President of OOIDA, said in a release. “OOIDA and our 150,000 members thank Representatives Nehls and Houlahan for showing tremendous leadership on this issue and we look forward to working with them and our coalition partners to get this commonsense, bipartisan legislation signed into law.”
