Current through Reg. 49, No. 38; September 20, 2024
(a) Scope. These
sections of this undesignated head apply to temporary places of employment.
This includes locations or situations where one or more persons are directly or
indirectly employed by others in:
(1) work of
a mobile nature or at a series of locations involving movement from one
location to another;
(2) work of a
transitory or seasonal nature performed for a limited period of time or at a
temporary job site, or both;
(3)
work on railroad facilities, i.e., maintenance of way; or
(4) work in any agricultural operation or
activity performed in the field or outside of any permanent structure or
facility.
(b) Exclusion.
Places of employment or numbers of employees to which specific federal
sanitation standards apply, as adopted under the Occupational Safety and Health
Act of 1970, Public Law 91-596, are excluded (29 United States Code Annotated
§§651-678). This section does not apply to the operation of railroad
rolling stock.
(c) Purpose. The
purpose of these sections is to prescribe minimum standards for the protection
of the individual employee and the public welfare at temporary places of
employment.
(d) Employer
responsibility.
(1) Each person, association,
or organization acting as employer shall have the responsibility to provide and
maintain, or cause to be provided and maintained, sanitary facilities at any
temporary place of employment according to the minimum standards set forth in
these sections for the total number of persons employed during each workday or
part thereof, except as otherwise provided, whether the mode of employment is
direct or by means of an intermediary.
(2) Where labor is performed under a
contractual arrangement, that person, association, or organization for whose
benefit such labor is performed shall have primary responsibility, and each
labor contractor thereto shall have joint responsibility, for compliance with
the provisions of these sections.
(3) Where employees of more than one employer
perform work at a temporary place of employment, it shall be the responsibility
of each employer to provide or arrange for sanitary facilities meeting minimum
standards for the total number of his own employees.
(4) Employers shall permit the use of the
required sanitary facilities by their employees without fee or other charge,
nor shall any charge be made to employees if transportation is provided to or
from such facilities. The pay of employees shall not be subject to deduction as
a consequence of providing or using such facilities.
(5) Employers shall inform their employees of
their rights and obligations as set forth in these sections. They shall notify
their employees of the location(s) of all sanitary facilities designated for
their use and of any means of travel to these facilities, if provided, or of
any subsequent changes in location or other arrangement.
(6) An employer who employs no more than six
persons performing work at a temporary place of employment on any work day may,
on such days, be exempt from the requirement to provide toilet and handwashing
facilities so long as he has provided or arranged for immediate transportation
for these persons to travel to and from nearby facilities that meet minimum
sanitary standards and are accessible to their use.
(e) Employee responsibility. Each employee
shall make proper use of the sanitary facilities provided, as is reasonable and
necessary, so as not to adversely affect his own health or that of
others.
(f) Travel-distance
limitation concerning all sanitary facilities.
(1) An unimpeded walking distance of no more
than 440 yards, which may also be measured as 400 meters or 1/4 mile, is the
maximum distance that shall be required of employees to walk to the sanitary
facilities provided for their use, as required by these sections. Impeded
distances or those requiring climbing shall be shorter, so that in no case does
walking to these facilities require more than five minutes.
(2) Where sanitary facilities are required
but it is not possible to comply with this travel-distance limitation, the
employer must provide such facilities at the nearest possible location, and
shall provide or arrange for transportation during both work and rest periods
for immediate travel to and from these facilities, which must meet minimum
sanitary standards. Transportation to the facilities so located shall not
require more than five minutes travel time.
(3) The travel-distance limitation shall not
apply to employment as mounted riders nor when operating moving power equipment
or vehicles on the job.
(g) Penalty and enforcement. The statutory
penalty and enforcement provisions covering violations of Health and Safety
Code, Chapter 341, and these sections are contained in the Health and Safety
Code, Chapter 341, §341.091 and §341.092.
