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A Guide to Restroom Access for Transgender Workers

Introduction

The Department of Labor’s (DOL) Occupational 

Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) 

requires that all employers under its jurisdiction 

provide employees with sanitary and available 

toilet facilities, so that employees will not suffer 

the adverse health effects that can result if 

toilets are not available when employees need 

them. This publication provides guidance to 

employers on best practices regarding restroom 

access for transgender workers. OSHA’s goal 

is to assure that employers provide a safe and 

healthy working environment for all employees. 

Understanding Gender Identity

In many workplaces, separate restroom and other 

facilities are provided for men and women. In 

some cases, questions can arise in the workplace 

about which facilities certain employees should 

use. According to the Williams Institute at 

the University of California-Los Angeles, an 

estimated 700,000 adults in the United States 

are transgender—meaning their internal gender 

identity is different from the sex they were 

assigned at birth (e.g., the sex listed on their birth 

certificate). For example, a transgender man may 

have been assigned female at birth and raised as 

a girl, but identify as a man. Many transgender 

people transition to live their everyday life as the 

gender they identify with. Thus, a transgender 

man may transition from living as a woman to 

living as a man. Similarly, a transgender woman

may be assigned male at birth, but transition to 

living as a woman consistent with her gender 

identity. Transitioning is a different process for 

everyone—it may involve social changes (such 

as going by a new first name), medical steps, and 

changing identification documents. 

Why Restroom Access Is a Health 

and Safety Matter

Gender identity is an intrinsic part of each 

person’s identity and everyday life. Accordingly, 

authorities on gender issues counsel that it is 

essential for employees to be able to work in a 

manner consistent with how they live the rest of 

their daily lives, based on their gender identity. 

Restricting employees to using only restrooms that 

are not consistent with their gender identity, or 

segregating them from other workers by requiring 

them to use gender-neutral or other specific 

restrooms, singles those employees out and may 

make them fear for their physical safety. Bathroom 

restrictions can result in employees avoiding using 

restrooms entirely while at work, which can lead to 

potentially serious physical injury or illness.

OSHA’s Sanitation Standard 

Under OSHA’s Sanitation standard (1910.141), 

employers are required to provide their 

employees with toilet facilities. This standard is 

intended to protect employees from the health 

effects created when toilets are not available. 

Such adverse effects include urinary tract 

infections and bowel and bladder problems. 

OSHA has consistently interpreted this standard 

to require employers to allow employees prompt 

access to sanitary facilities. Further, employers 

may not impose unreasonable restrictions on 

employee use of toilet facilities.

Core principle: All employees, including transgender employees, should 

have access to restrooms that correspond to their gender identity.

BestPractices
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Model Practices for Restroom Access 

for Transgender Employees

Many companies have implemented written 

policies to ensure that all employees—including 

transgender employees—have prompt access 

to appropriate sanitary facilities. The core belief 

underlying these policies is that all employees 

should be permitted to use the facilities that 

correspond with their gender identity. For 

example, a person who identifies as a man 

should be permitted to use men’s restrooms, 

and a person who identifies as a woman should 

be permitted to use women’s restrooms. 

The employee should determine the most 

appropriate and safest option for him- or herself.

The best policies also provide additional options, 

which employees may choose, but are not 

required, to use. These include:

• Single-occupancy gender-neutral (unisex) 

facilities; and

• Use of multiple-occupant, gender-neutral 

restroom facilities with lockable single 

occupant stalls.

Regardless of the physical layout of a worksite, all 

employers need to find solutions that are safe and 

convenient and respect transgender employees. 

Under these best practices, employees are 

not asked to provide any medical or legal 

documentation of their gender identity in order 

to have access to gender-appropriate facilities. In 

addition, no employee should be required to use 

a segregated facility apart from other employees 

because of their gender identity or transgender 

status. Under OSHA standards, employees 

generally may not be limited to using facilities 

that are an unreasonable distance or travel time 

from the employee’s worksite.

Other Federal, State and Local Laws 

Employers should be aware of specific laws, 

rules, or regulations regarding restroom access 

in their states and/or municipalities, as well 

as the potential application of federal antidiscrimination laws. 

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission 

(EEOC), the Department of Justice (DOJ), DOL, 

and several other federal agencies, following 

several court rulings, have interpreted prohibitions 

on sex discrimination, including those contained in 

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, to prohibit 

employment discrimination based on gender 

identity or transgender status. In April 2015, the 

DOL’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance 

Programs (OFCCP) announced it would require 

federal contractors subject to Executive Order 

11246, as amended, which prohibits discrimination 

based on both sex and gender identity, to allow 

transgender employees to use the restrooms 

and other facilities consistent with their gender 

identity. Also in April 2015, the EEOC ruled that a 

transgender employee cannot be denied access to 

the common restrooms used by other employees 

of the same gender identity, regardless of whether 

that employee has had any medical procedure 

or whether other employees’ may have negative 

reactions to allowing the employee to do so. The 

EEOC held that such a denial of access constituted 

direct evidence of sex discrimination under Title VII. 

The following is a sample of state and local legal 

provisions, all reaffirming the core principle that 

employees should be allowed to use the restrooms 

that correspond to their gender identity. 

Colorado: Rule 81.9 of the Colorado regulations 

requires that employers permit their employees 

to use restrooms appropriate to their gender 

identity rather than their assigned gender at 

birth without being harassed or questioned. 

3 CCR 708-1-81.9 (revised December 15, 2014), 

available at http://cdn.colorado.gov/cs/Satellite/

DORA-DCR/CBON/DORA/1251629367483.

For more information refer to: “Sexual 

Orientation & Transgender Status 

Discrimination—Employment, Housing & 

Public Accommodations,” Colorado Civil Rights 

Division, available at: http://cdn.colorado.gov/cs/

Satellite/DORA-DCR/CBON/DORA/1251631542607.

Delaware: Guidance from the Delaware 

Department of Human Resource Management 

provides Delaware state employees with access 

to restrooms that correspond to their gender 

identity. The guidance was issued pursuant to the 

state’s gender identity nondiscrimination law. 

Delaware’s policy also suggests: Whenever 

practical, a single stall or gender-neutral restroom 

may be provided, which all employees may utilize. 
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However, a transgender employee will not be 

compelled to use only a specific restroom unless 

all other co-workers of the same gender identity 

are compelled to use only that same restroom. 

For more information refer to: State of Delaware 

Guidelines on Equal Employment Opportunity 

and Affirmative Action Gender Identity, available 

at: http://www.delawarepersonnel.com/policies/

documents/sod-eeoc-guide.pdf. 

District of Columbia: Rule 4-802 of the D.C. 

Municipal Regulations prohibits discriminatory 

practices in regard to restroom access. 

Individuals have the right to use facilities 

consistent with their gender identity. In 

addition, single-stall restrooms must have 

gender-neutral signage. D.C. Municipal 

Regulations 4-802, “Restrooms and Other 

Gender Specific Facilities,” available at: http://

www.dcregs.dc.gov/Gateway/RuleHome.

aspx?RuleNumber=4-802. 

Iowa: The Iowa Civil Rights Commission requires 

that employers allow employees access to 

restrooms in accordance with their gender 

identity, rather than their assigned sex at birth. 

For more information refer to: “Sexual 

Orientation & Gender Identity – An Employer’s 

Guide to Iowa Law Compliance,” Iowa 

Civil Rights Commission, available at: 

https://icrc.iowa.gov/sites/files/civil_rights/

publications/2012/SOGIEmpl.pdf. 

Vermont: The Vermont Human Rights 

Commission requires that employers permit 

employees to access bathrooms in accordance 

with their gender identity. 

For more information refer to: “Sex, Sexual 

Orientation, and Gender Identity: A Guide 

to Vermont’s Anti-Discrimination Law for 

Employers and Employees,” Vermont Human 

Rights Commission, available at: http://hrc.

vermont.gov/sites/hrc/files/pdfs/other%20

reports/trans%20employment%20brochure%20

7-13-12.pdf. 

Washington: The Washington State Human 

Rights Commission requires employers that 

maintain gender-specific restrooms to permit 

transgender employees to use the restroom that 

is consistent with their gender identity. Where 

single occupancy restrooms are available, 

the Commission recommends that they be 

designated as “gender neutral.” 

For more information refer to: “Guide to 

Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity and the 

Washington State Law Against Discrimination,” 

available at: http://www.hum.wa.gov/

Documents/Guidance/GuideSO20140703.pdf.

Additional Information 

• American Psychological Association. 

Answers to your questions about transgender 

people, gender identity and gender expression, 

2011: http://www.apa.org/topics/lgbt/

transgender.aspx. 

• Transgender Law Center’s model employer 

policy, with an extensive section on restrooms, 

can be found at: http://transgenderlawcenter.

org/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/modelworkplace-employment-policy-Updated.pdf.

• “Restroom Access for Transgender 

Employees” on Human Rights Campaign 

website: http://www.hrc.org/resources/entry/

restroom-access-for-transgender-employees. 

• National Gay and Lesbian Task Force 

and the National Center for Transgender 

Equality. National Transgender Discrimination 

Survey, 2011: http://endtransdiscrimination.org/

report.html.

How OSHA Can Help

OSHA has a great deal of information to 

assist employers in complying with their 

responsibilities under the law. Information on 

OSHA requirements and additional health and 

safety information, including information on 

OSHA’s Sanitation standard, is available on the 

agency’s website (www.osha.gov). 

Workers have a right to a safe workplace (www.

osha.gov/workers.html#2). The law requires 

employers to provide their employees with 

working conditions that are free of known dangers. 

An employer’s duty to provide a safe workplace 

includes the duty to provide employees with 

toilet facilities that are sanitary and available, so 

that employees can use them when they need to 

do so. Employers also have a duty to protect all 
their employees, regardless of whether they are 

transgender, from any act or threat of physical 

violence, harassment, intimidation, or other 

threatening disruptive behavior that occurs at the 

work site. For more information on workplace 

violence, please see OSHA’s website at: www.

osha.gov/SLTC/workplaceviolence.

Workers who believe that they have been exposed 

to a hazard or who just have a question should 

contact OSHA. For example, workers may file a 

complaint to have OSHA inspect their workplace if 

they believe that their workplace is unsafe or that 

their employer is not following OSHA standards. 

Just contact OSHA at: 1-800-321-OSHA (6742), or 

visit www.osha.gov. Complaints that are signed by 

an employee are more likely to result in an on-site 

inspection. It’s confidential. We can help.

The Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act) 

prohibits employers from retaliating against their 

employees for exercising their rights under the 

OSH Act. These rights include raising a workplace 

health and safety concern with the employer, 

reporting an injury or illness, filing an OSHA 

complaint, and participating in an inspection 

or talking to an inspector. If workers have been 

retaliated against for exercising their rights, they 

must file a complaint with OSHA within 30 days of 

the alleged adverse action. For more information, 

please visit www.whistleblowers.gov.

OSHA can also help answer questions or 

concerns from employers. To reach your closest 

OSHA regional or area office, go to OSHA’s 

Regional and Area Offices webpage (www.osha.

gov/html/RAmap.html) or call 1-800-321-OSHA 

(6742). OSHA also provides free, confidential 

on-site assistance and advice to small and 

medium-sized employers in all states across 

the country, with priority given to high-hazard 

worksites. On-site Consultation services are 

separate from enforcement activities and do 

not result in penalties or citations. To contact 

OSHA’s free consultation program, or for 

additional compliance assistance, call OSHA at 

1-800-321-OSHA (6742).

References: 

Department of Labor, Office of Federal Contract 

Compliance Programs, 2015. “Frequently Asked Questions 

EO 13672 Final Rule”, available at: http://www.dol.gov/

ofccp/lgbt/lgbt_faqs.html#Q35.

National Center for Transgender Equality and National 

Gay and Lesbian Task Force, 2011 at 56 (noting that only 

22% of transgender people have been denied access 

to gender-appropriate restrooms), available at: http://

endtransdiscrimination.org/report.html.

Gates, Gary J., How many people are lesbian, gay, bisexual, 

and transgender? Williams Institute, UCLA School of Law, 

2011. Retrieved 5/18/2015 from: http://williamsinstitute.law.

ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/Gates-How-Many-PeopleLGBT-Apr-2011.pdf. 

Grant, Jaime M., Lisa A. Mottet, Justin Tanis, Jack Harrison, 

Jody L. Herman, and Mara Keisling. Injustice at Every 

Turn: A Report of the National Transgender Discrimination 

Survey. Washington: National Center for Transgender 

Equality and National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, 2011 at 

56 (noting that only 22% of transgender people have been 

denied access to gender-appropriate restrooms), available 

at: http://endtransdiscrimination.org/report.html.

Lusardi v. McHugh, EEOC Appeal No. 0120133395 (Apr. 1, 

2015), available at: http://transgenderlawcenter.org/wpcontent/uploads/2015/04/EEOC-Lusardi-Decision.pdf.

Macy v. Holder, EEOC Appeal No. 0120120821 (2012); 

Attorney General Memorandum, Treatment of Transgender 

Employment Discrimination Claims (Dec. 15, 2015). Retrieved 

5/18/2015 from: http://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/opa/

press-releases/attachments/2014/12/18/title_vii_memo.pdf. 

Memorandum to Regional Administrators and State 

Designees of the Occupational Safety and Health 

Administration on the Interpretation of 29 CFR 1910.141(c)

(1)(i): Toilet Facilities (Apr. 6, 1998), available at: www.

osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_

table=INTERPRETATIONS&p_id=22932. 

Disclaimer: This document is not a standard or regulation, and it creates no new legal obligations. It contains 

recommendations as well as descriptions of mandatory safety and health standards. The recommendations are 

advisory in nature, informational in content, and are intended to assist employers in providing a safe and healthful 

workplace. The Occupational Safety and Health Act requires employers to comply with safety and health standards and 

regulations promulgated by OSHA or by a state with an OSHA-approved state plan. In addition, the Act’s General Duty 

Clause, Section 5(a)(1), requires employers to provide their employees with a workplace free from recognized hazards 

likely to cause death or serious physical harm.

OSHA 3795-2015

U.S. Department of Labor