A Vermont state official says many business owners are not complying with a new state law that requires all single-stall bathrooms to be labeled gender neutral.

Karen Richards, executive director of the Vermont Human Rights Commission, tells Vermont Public Radio she believes the non-compliance is mainly due to ignorance, and not people intentionally defying the law.

The law went into effect July 1. The Human Rights Commission and the Department of Public Safety says businesses should simplify bathroom signs to only say "restroom" and remove male/female symbols that appear on single-stall bathrooms.

The public safety department's Division of Fire Safety is responsible for inspecting the businesses' bathroom signs.

Fire Safety Executive Director Michael Desrochers says compliance is "easy and inexpensive" which will "reduce the need for enforcement."

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