Do you have enough toilets in your workplace? What condition are they in? Are your bathroom break policies too restrictive?
It’s important to know, because the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulates the availability of and workers’ access to restroom facilities.
OSHA’s sanitation standard “is intended to ensure that employers provide employees with sanitary and available toilet facilities, so that employees will not suffer the adverse health effects that could result if toilets are not available when employees need them.” These rules ensure that all workplace bathrooms remain safe, sanitary and easily accessible. Here’s a quick rundown:
Availability
Toilet facilities must be available at every work site, with mobile worksites being the exception. Employees in mobile work crews must have transportation readily available to toilet facilities “nearby,” however, and agricultural workers must have toilet and hand-washing facilities within a quarter-mile of the work site.
Employees must have reasonable access to a bathroom facility. According to an April 6, 1998, OSHA memorandum, the standard mandates that “employers allow employees prompt access to bathroom facilities,” and that “restrictions on access must be reasonable, and may not cause extended delays.” Employers should also carefully consider restrictions for employees with certain medical