SECTION 295.161. General Provisions

(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.

Source Note: The provisions of this §295.161 adopted to be effective February 22, 1993, 18 TexReg 848.