A footrest mechanism is disclosed which is adapted to be coupled to a chair to allow a footrest (120) to be moved between an extended position and a retracted position. The footrest mechanism includes a mounting member (104) having a guide pin (109) and a release member (106) having an L-shaped slot (110) configured to receive the guide pin. The L-shaped slot (110) includes a generally horizontal portion (111) extending from a generally vertical portion (112) at least partially defined by a stop wall (113). The release member (106) also includes a handling tab (107) which facilitates the operation of the footrest mechanism (102) for movement of the footrest (120) between extended and retracted positions.