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OSHA requires employers to provide a certain number of sanitation and toilet facilities depending on employee strength and gender mix. This number should be sufficient enough to prevent long lines for bathroom use. Employers are required to allow workers to leave their work locations to use a restroom when needed and not impose unreasonable restrictions on restroom use.
Employers must also ensure that restrictions such as locking doors or workers having to sign out a key do not cause extended delays in their availing of the restroom facility. You may read more about OSHA’s restroom and sanitation requirements here.
OSHA requires all employers to provide workers with sanitary facilities and immediately available restrooms. The number of such restrooms and their gender-based segregation depends on the number of employees of that sex for whom the facilities are furnished. While a unisex restroom or a single restroom is permitted when the number of employees is less than 15, this number multiples as the workforce size goes up.
OSHA permits not creating separate gender-based toilet rooms where no more than one person will occupy provided toilet rooms at a time, are lockable from the inside, and contain at least one water closet. You may find more information in 29 CFR 1910.141(c)(1)(i).
Restroom facility requirements specific to construction sites are mentioned in CFR 1926.51. According to it, there shall be one facility for 20 or fewer employees, one toilet seat and one urinal per 40 workers for 20 or more employees up to 200, and one toilet seat and one urinal per 50 workers when the number of employees is 200 or more.
Yes. Both public and common use restrooms, including those reserved for employees only, must comply with applicable ADA standards. The only possible exception being private single-occupant toilet rooms accessed only through a private office. Such restrooms may be excused from complying with certain access features like grab bars in certain situations. You may find more information in this guide to the ADA accessibility standards.
Pictograms on men’s restroom signs are not a mandatory ADA requirement. Where used, they are required to be on a field at least 6” high and include the verbal equivalent below in raised characters and braille. These pictograms must also meet the finish and contrast specifications mentioned in §703.6.
Men’s and other accessible restrooms are required to have the ISA or the International Symbol of Accessibility only where inaccessible restrooms are present. In situations where existing toilet rooms are non-compliant, directional signs with the ISA are necessary to indicate the location of the nearest accessible restroom that must be identified by the ISA.
