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Breaks

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I have two questions.
1. What is the law on how many hours worked before you have to take lunch break?
2. What is the law on bathroom breaks, and how many employees does an employer have to have before having separate bathrooms-(men & women)?

There is no federal law that employees must be given meal breaks. State laws require meal breaks for some or all employees in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Deleware, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Washington and West Virginia. Those laws vary according to state and industry.

The standard on separate bathrooms for men and women is a grey area. OSHA CFR 1910.141 sets standards for the number of toilets for each sex, based on the number of employees. For example, an employer with 1 female and 1 male employee would be required to have a total of 2 toilets. OSHA regulations do permit bathrooms with a single toilet in the room (similar to bathrooms in homes) to be unisex. So the employer could probably have 2 unisex bathrooms, each with a single toilet, instead of one mens bathroom and one womens bathroom. OSHA does not set a hard and fast rule on how many employees are required before the restrooms must be separate. The only way to find out for sure if your business is in compliance is to call OSHA. The offer consultation services that do not involve an inspection and fines.

Of course, any restroom that has stalls containing more than 1 toilet must be designated as mens or womens.

Most of the time when female employees object to using the same bathroom as men, it is because the bathroom is not clean. OSHA regulations require that the employer maintain the bathroom in a clean and sanitary condition at all times.