With increased awareness of gender and identity, many individuals are gaining the courage to express themselves as they want. However, this freedom of expression can be challenged in workplaces.
Many organizations and small business employers have found the solution in non-segregated restrooms for all employees. However, the core principle of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in the matter can be violated by non-segregated restrooms.
OSHA’s Core Principal for Employee Restrooms
In a publication on its official website, OSHA states:
“All employees, including transgender employees, should have access to restrooms that correspond to their gender identity.”
Per the principal, each employee should have access to restrooms exclusive to people with their gender identity. This means that women should have access to restrooms exclusive for women.
Though OSHA does not use the word exclusive, the phrase corresponds to their gender identity and implies a similar meaning.
Availability of Restrooms in Terms of Health and Safety
As per OSHA’s publication, “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.”
Trans-women, like cis-women, can feel uncomfortable with gender-neutral restrooms or having to use men’s restrooms. This can lead them to not utilize restroom facilities at all, leading to various health issues such as kidney failure, UTIs, gut infection, etc. Moreover, cis women may avoid restrooms for the same reason if Trans men are forced to use women’s restrooms.
However, safety issues can be an even bigger than medical health issues. Trans women may fear getting harassed and bullied at men’s restrooms, and trans men may fear the same at women’s restrooms. Harassment of Trans individuals is rampant in public restrooms. However, organizations must make every effort to avoid harassment and bullying in workplaces, including workplace bathrooms.
Restrooms for Non-Binary Individuals
While OSHA’s guidelines help employers make segregated restrooms for Trans individuals, it doesn’t say much for non-binary ones. Contrary to OSHA’s guidelines, many human rights organizations believe that all-gender bathrooms are the solution to the ever-increasing awareness and expression of gender and individuality. Since non-binary individuals can feel both as women and men or neither as women or men, they may have access to all bathrooms or none of the bathrooms, leading to further confusion.
Though the contrary guidelines can be confusing, the solution is simple: Organizations must provide men’s and women’s segregated restrooms and all-gender restrooms. The number of restrooms for each category can be decided according to OSHA’s guidelines on the required number of restrooms for the number of employees who will use it. Organizations must avoid only non-segregated restrooms as they don’t correspond to the gender identity of most individuals.
