The right to sit in the United States refers to state and local laws and regulations guaranteeing workers the right to sit at work when standing is not necessary. The right to sit, also known as suitable seating, was a pillar of the early labor movement. Between 1881 and 1917, almost all states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico had passed legislation concerning suitable seating for workers. These laws were enacted during the Progressive Era, spearheaded by women workers in the labor movement. The majority of states and the District of Columbia repealed their right to sit laws between 1953 and 2015. Seven states and several cities have active, gender-neutral laws. In some workplaces, unionized workers have gained suitable seating provisions in their work contracts.
The original texts of these laws almost always applied only to women workers. Most states with right to sit laws have subsequently amended their laws to include all workers regardless of sex. Florida's law has always been gender-neutral. Some states allow seating accommodations for workers who are minors, disabled, or pregnant. There is no federal right to sit law, nor is the US a signatory to the International Labour Organization's Hygiene (Commerce and Offices) Convention, 1964, which contains a suitable seating provision. Disabled workers who qualify can request seating as a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Pregnant workers can request seating under the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Low-income workers and workers without health insurance may experience difficulties acquiring a doctor's note to prove their disability status.
Largely obscure and rarely enforced for nearly a century, right to sit laws have obtained new relevance following several high-profile lawsuits against major corporations in California and other states during the 2010s and 2020s. States with current, gender-neutral right to sit laws include California, Florida, Massachusetts, Montana, New Jersey, Oregon, and Wisconsin. Some states, including New York, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, maintain gendered language referring to female workers only, but the laws are not enforced. South Dakota's right to sit law only applies to minors. States that have repealed their right to sit laws include Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Virginia, Washington and Wyoming. Right to sit laws have been enacted at the local level in several cities, including Ann Arbor, Michigan and St. Louis, Missouri. Local laws have been repealed in some cities, including Baltimore, Chicago, Denver, Newport News, Norfolk, and Portland. Since 2019, state and local politicians in several states, including Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, and West Virginia, have proposed legislation to enact right to sit laws or amend them to be gender neutral.
History
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, during the Progressive Era, numerous states, territories, and cities passed laws, minimum wage orders, and other regulations granting workers the right to suitable seats, specifically for women workers. According to a report by the sociologist Annie Marion MacLean, 22 states had passed suitable seating laws for women workers by 1897.
By 1915, only four states lacked a suitable seating law for women workers: Idaho, Mississippi, Nevada, and New Mexico. Principles of Labor Legislation, a foundational labor law text written in 1916 by John R. Commons and John Bertram Andrews, noted that an aspect of early 20th century labor reforms that is "[p]articularly striking is the special protection of women manifested in the laws on seats, toilets, and dressing-rooms." At the time, all right to sit legislation in the United States was gendered, applying specifically to women workers. They write that as "far back as the end of the 'seventies the dangers of constant standing for salesgirls were recognized, and it was urged that they be furnished seats and allowed to use them." They note that the first state to pass right to sit legislation for women workers was New York in 1881. By 1916, almost every state had such a right to sit law for women workers. Most state laws covered manufacturing and mechanical jobs, with some states covering virtually all jobs. Commons and Andrews claimed that these early right to sit laws were "of little real importance in protecting health...since it is practically impossible to see that employers and foremen allow the seats to be used even when provided."
By 1932, almost all of the states, the District of Columbia, and the territories of Puerto Rico and the Philippines, had passed laws requiring some form of suitable seating for women workers. The majority of states with right to sit laws specify that "suitable seats" be provided by employers and that workers be allowed to sit when standing is not required. The only state in the United States without a right to sit law by 1932 was Mississippi. North Dakota and New Mexico passed suitable sitting laws in 1920 and 1931, respectively.
In 1960, 46 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico had suitable seating laws. All applied only to women workers except Florida.
The 1965, Handbook on Women Workers published by the Women's Bureau Bulletin recommends, as a health standard, "Suitable seats in adequate numbers; workers free to use them when not actively engaged in performance of duties that require a standing position, or at all times when nature of job permits."
In 1969, 45 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico had suitable seating laws. They had been repealed in Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, and North Dakota, and had never been enacted in Mississippi.
By January 1st, 1982, 22 jurisdictions in the United States had right to sit laws. The laws had been amended to be gender neutral in nine states: California, Massachusetts, Oregon, Montana, Utah, New Jersey, Wisconsin, Florida, and Washington, D.C.
After largely falling into obscurity for nearly a century, these suitable seating laws have gained greater recognition due to multiple lawsuits in the state of California and other states during the late 2010s and early 2020s. In 2019, Safeway was ordered to pay a fine of $12 million (~$ in ) after a Santa Clara County, California cashier was denied the right to sit.
Collective bargaining
Some labor unions have demanded suitable seating provisions in worker contracts as part of negotiations. The Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU), which represents unionized Barnes & Noble workers, supports suitable seating provisions in worker contracts. Workers at Barnes & Noble's flagship Union Square location in Manhattan have been granted seating provisions in their employment contracts. RWDSU's president Stuart Appelbaum has said that seating provisions were previously won during negotiations with another company after union organizers removed all chairs from the room during a break in negotiations. Appelbaum stated, "The employer came back and saw we had removed all chairs from the negotiating table...I think the point was made."
Legislation by jurisdiction Federal legislation There is no federal law requiring suitable seating for all workers. Qualifying disabled workers can request seating as a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Pregnant workers can request seating under the federal Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) does not have a specific standard that requires that all workers be provided with suitable seating. OSHA permits states to develop their own occupational safety standards, as long as the standards are "at least as effective as" federal standards.
Summary of legislation by jurisdiction Note: in cases where it is unknown if the legislation has been repealed or is still active, a "No" under the column for gender neutrality indicates that the legislation was not gender neutral when first enacted. The bills may or may not have been updated to be gender neutral since they were passed. Jurisdiction Year first enacted Gender neutrality Year repealed Text 1896 No 2015 ? No ? ? 1912 No 1973 1913 No 1997 1911 Yes, 1974 Active 1885 No 1973 ? 1893 No 2005 1887 No 1965 ? 1899 Yes, always Active 1889 No ? ? ? No ? ? 1913 No 1985 1901 No ? ? 1891 No 1971 ? 1892 No 1972 ? 1901 No 1975 1912 No 1972 1900 No 1976 ? 1911 No 1975 1896 No 1953 ? 1882 Yes, 1974 Active 1883 No 1975 ? 1887 No 1973 1885 No 2007 1885 Yes, 1975 Active 1883 No 1969 1917 No 1975 ? 1895 No 1985 1882 Yes, 1980 Active 1931 No 2009 1881 No Active 1909 No 1973 1920 ? ? ? 1891 No 1982 1908 No 1991 1903 Yes Active 1887 No Active ? No ? ? 1894 No 1976 ? 1899 No ? ? 1913 Yes Active (minors only) 1905 No 1972 ? 1913 No 1985 ? 1897 Yes 1991 ? 1915 No 1969 1898 No 1974 1895 Yes, 1976 2004 1890 No 1973 1901 No Active 1899 Yes, 1975 Active 1901 No 1996
Alabama Alabama passed a suitable seating law for women workers in 1896. The suitable seating provision was recodified again in 1907, 1923, and 1940.
The suitable seating law for women workers was repealed on April 21, 2015.
Alaska As early as 1954, Alaska law stated that "Wherever possible women shall be seated at their work, with stools or chairs provided with a backrest and contribute to good posture; when required to stand at their work for prolonged periods, chairs shall be provided for their use during rest periods."
Arizona Arizona passed a right to sit law in 1912.
Arizona's General Construction Safety Code, 1957 prohibited women from working in mines, quarries, coal breakers, or other jobs that required standing. The law also stipulated that "Employers of females in any place or establishment must provide suitable seats, chairs, or benches and permit their use when females are not engaged in active duties."
Arizona's law was repealed in 1973. The article heading for the repealed article was removed from the Arizona law code in 2006.
Arkansas Arkansas passed a suitable seating law for women workers in 1913. The law stated that in any "manufacturing, mechanical, mercantile and other establishment where girls or women are employed, there shall be provided, and conveniently situated, seats sufficient to comfortably seat such girls or women, and during such times as they are not required by their duties to be upon their feet, they shall be allowed to use the seats."
Arkansas's right to sit law for women workers was repealed in 1997.
California
California first enacted a suitable seating law for women workers in February, 1889.
In 1911, the California State Legislature passed a provision requiring all employers in the mercantile industry to "provide suitable seats for all female employees" and to allow them to "use such seats when they are not engaged in the active duties of their employment." Workers who are not "engaged in the active duties of their employment and the nature of the work requires standing, an adequate number of suitable seats shall be placed in reasonable proximity to the work area and employees shall be permitted to use such seats when it does not interfere with the performance of their duties."
The gendered provision in California's suitable seating law was struck down as discriminatory in federal court in 1974.
In addition to California's general right to sit law, California labor law also specifies that "When the nature of the work reasonably permits the use of seats, suitable seats shall be provided" for sheepherders and goat herders who are "working on or at a machine."