OSHA Toilet Regulations

Quantity

• Employers are required to provide employees with toilet facilities that are sufficient for the number of employees -- of each gender -- on shift at any given time. OSHA requires separate toilet facilities for men and women but allows urinals in place of water closets at workplaces where only men are present -- up to one-third of the specified number of toilets. Workplaces with 15 or fewer employees only require one water closet with an additional toilet required for every 20 additional employees up to a total of 55. Workplaces that employ between 56 and 80 employees require four toilets, and employees with 81 to 110 employees require five. Workplaces with 111 to 150 employees require an additional toilet for every additional 40 employees.

Construction

• OSHA requires employers to build toilet facilities according to basic minimum standards of sanitation and privacy. Employers are required to provide separate facilities for men and women unless the toilet rooms are designed to accommodate one person at a time, with an interior lock and at least one one water closet in each room. OSHA further requires that each water closet must occupy a compartment with a door separated from the rest of the room by a wall or partition large enough to ensure the privacy of its occupant. Employers are further required to dispose of waste in a manner that is not hazardous to employees.

Sanitation

• In addition to its requirements for toilets, OSHA requires employers to provide lavatories for employees and maintain them in a sanitary condition. OSHA requires that lavatories provide hot and cold running water or tepid running water. Lavatories must also have hand soap or an equivalent cleaning agent available, along with hand towels or blowers in a location convenient to the lavatory. OSHA prohibits employers from storing food or beverages in toilet facilities and prohibits employees from eating in toilet facilities.

Exceptions

• Employers operating a job site that is not regularly staffed or employing mobile work crews are not required to provide permanent toilet or lavatory facilities. Instead, they are required to provide immediately available transportation to toilet facilities that meet OSHA's requirements for permanent toilet facilities.