Human Resource Blog

Restrooms

How many restrooms must we provide in a factory with a lot of women?

OSHA, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration sets the standards for most businesses in the US. (About 22 states have state agencies in lieu of OSHA, however, their standards must be at least as high as OSHA’s. Often they are identical.)

The OSHA sanitation standards for general industry are CFR 1910.141 at http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=STANDARDS&p_id=9790.

The number of toilets is based on the number of workers of each sex. For example, if there are 1 to 15 female employees, OSHA requires a women’s bathroom with 1 stall (or toilet.)  If there are 16 to 35 female employees, 2 stalls are required. For 36 to 55 female employees, 3 stalls are required.

Surprisingly, OSHA does not require more toilets for women than for men (although some state or local laws do.)

These are the OSHA general standards. Different standards may apply to a particular industry or workplace. For example, in a factory where everyone must use the toilet during a short break, more stalls would probably be required.