Where can I specifically find the OSHA Regulations for bathroom breaks?

Question

There is a situation at my workplace where employees are fighting to get lunch breaks and bathroom breaks on a daily basis. Some employees are lone employees working anywhere from 4 to 8 hours per day alone, at a kiosk store. My location is also considered a kiosk store. I am in Georgia, in the USA. I have dealt with the same thing - working some days 2pm to 10:15pm alone, with a single lunch break halfway through and sometimes only a single restroom break apart from that lunch break. I've had to call multiple locations and hunt down a lunch break or bathroom break, and even then someone at another store with two people still didn't really want to come down.

The employee is quite interesting. They don't seem to think there is anything wrong with this. They have no real 'floater' that goes from store to store, other than the Area Manager and Regional Managers; and they are not going from store to store on the same day. They may have around x store on x day and then x store on x day, but it's not consistent.

I called and spoke with an OSHA representative, and he said that's a violation. However, I'm a little concerned about some things. Particularly, I find a lot of vague, unstable material on the OSHA website when searching for bathroom break related material. Trying to find even "regulations" on bathroom breaks is hard. I think I speak quite fairly and frankly when I say that everyone has to pee every 2-3 hours at least. The area that I work in (in a federal airport) is a very dusty place. I have allergies and my throat hurts a lot of the time, especially when it gets dry. The people at the corporate office don't have to worry about this - their bathroom is right there in their office. We're in a freaking airport concourse. the Georgia Department of Transportation recently made a rule to where the company gets fined if we close the store gate to go to the restroom. So the company doesn't want us to do that, but doesn't want to provide 2 employees a lot of the time, either. What can I do? I'm a little scared to make an OSHA complaint and then have them go out "on a good day" and do an inspection to find that one or more stores happen to have more than one employee at that time; then I would look like an idiot and like I falsified what I said. Apparently there are two types of OSHA action - OSHA can call the corporate office and tell them via phone, but I'm not sure if that would be documented and helpful to me if the company retaliated. Supposedly, according to a lawyer that I talked to briefly just to ask, he said that if they took any action against me (after the OSHA complaint) that I could theoretically sue them because OSHA protects with a whistleblower protection of some sort.

What can I do? I'm trying to leave this place, but they are making it incredibly difficult for me in the process. Until I get another job, it's irritating. Also, even after I leave, this is an ongoing problem for other employees.

Answer 1

Most issues regarding breaks are handled by the Department of Labor. As you have noticed, there should probably be more regulation in this area.



The issue of bathroom use is handled by OSHA because it is a health issue. OSHA rules state that employees must have reasonable access to bathroom facilities. Bathroom breaks differ from other breaks because it is impossible to schedule them at a certain time.



You are sort of caught in-between your employer and the Georgia DOT. It seems to me that a reasonable solution would be to allow you to close the store and use the bathroom when you need to. The Georgia DOT, however, has a problem with what seems to be a reasonable solution.



You might try contacting the National Workrights Institute at 609 683 0313. They may be able to help you with this. (They are in New Jersey.)

Answer 2

Osha Standards Appear In The

Answer 3

OSHA requires restroom facilities...they do NOT address the issue of actual breaks or rest periods....

OSHA only gets involved when the employers so restrict the employees use of restrooms that it causes health and safety issues.......



Georgia does NOT require any breaks of any kind be given to any adult employee.......

Federal Labor Law (FLSA) does NOT mandate any breaks for any employees.........



the employer is already doing more then the law requires, so what is it you want them to do?

i am sure that if you had a real emergency, health issue or were ill they would understand if the kiosk had to be closed for a few minutes (as long as you had communicated with your supervisor) .





in stead of focusing on what the employer is required to by law (which they are doing more then required) how about you TALK to them?

ask your questions, and make your concerns known in a professional manner, try to come to an understanding of their policy and the procedures to deal with working alone........