Do employees have restroom rights?

Yes. Until recently, nothing — no federal law and no federal regulation — gave your employees the right to use the bathroom while at work. It’s ironic then that OSHA regulation, 29 CFR 1910.141, goes into great detail about how many toilets you need to have in order to accommodate all of your employees.

However, in 1997, almost the dawn of the 21st century, OSHA, upon the request of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, cited a company for not allowing its workers to use the restroom.

On April 6, 1998, OSHA issued nationwide guidelines to help agency officials decide if a company is providing sufficient bathroom breaks and facilities to its employees. The guidelines encourage officials to consider the following when deciding if a company is providing sufficient restroom breaks:

• The length of time which employees are delayed restroom use;
• The employer’s explanation for the restriction;
• Whether restrictions are general policy or arise only in specific circumstances and with certain supervisors;
• Whether the company policy recognizes individual medical needs;
• Whether employees have reported adverse health effects; and
• The frequency of restroom use denials.

It should be noted, though, that if employees are in one of your normally unattended work locations, restrooms are not required. However, employees may immediately walk or drive to nearby restrooms when the need arises.