Bill Text: NJ A3923 | 2024-2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes State occupational safety and health standard for toilets at construction sites.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-03-04 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Labor Committee [A3923 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2024-A3923-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman AURA K. DUNN
District 25 (Morris and Passaic)
SYNOPSIS
Establishes State occupational safety and health standard for toilets at construction sites.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning occupational safety and health standards and supplementing Title 34 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, an employer at a construction site shall provide a minimum of one separate toilet facility for each 20 employees or fraction thereof of each gender. The facilities may include both toilets and urinals provided that the number of toilets shall not be less than one half of the minimum required number of facilities. The only exception to the number of toilets required by this subsection is where there are four or fewer employees at a construction site, one single-user toilet facility designated for all-gender use is sufficient. Each single-user toilet facility designated for all-gender use counts as one of the required separate toilet facilities if all of the following conditions are met:
(1) the total number of toilet facilities provided is in accordance with this subsection;
(2) all single-user toilet facilities are designated for all-gender use; and
(3) all multi-user separate toilet facilities are provided in equal number to each sex.
b. Under temporary field conditions, the employer shall provide at least one toilet.
c. Where the provision of water closets is not feasible due to the absence of a sanitary sewer or the lack of an adequate water supply, nonwater carriage disposal facilities shall be provided. Unless prohibited by applicable local regulations, these facilities may include privies, chemical toilets, recirculating toilets, or combustion toilets.
d. Toilet facilities shall be kept clean, maintained in good working order, designed and maintained in a manner that will assure privacy, and provided with an adequate supply of toilet paper. Where sinks for washing hands are feasible, the employer shall provide adequate soap and water for handwashing.
e. Where sinks for washing hands are not feasible due to the absence of a sanitary sewer or the lack of an adequate water supply, the employer shall provide hand sanitizer for each toilet.
f. If work hours fall outside of daylight hours, the employer shall maintain toilet facilities in an open area that is well illuminated.
g. The requirements of this section shall not apply to mobile crews having readily available transportation to nearby toilet facilities.
h. The Department of Labor and Workforce Development shall promulgate rules and regulations to implement the provisions of the standards prescribed in this section and enforce any violations of the standards.
i. As used in this act:
"Employer" means a body, board, person, corporation, partnership, proprietorship, joint venture, fund, authority or similar entity employing, permitting or suffering another to work. In the case of a corporation, the officers of the corporation and any agents having the management of the corporation shall be deemed to be employers of the employees of the corporation for the purposes of this act. This term shall apply to private employers and to the State, its political subdivisions, and any boards, commissions, schools, institutions, or authorities created or recognized thereby.
2. a. The Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development shall, within one year of the effective date of this act, submit a proposed State OSH plan addressing the occupational safety and health issue of "Toilets at Construction Jobsites" pursuant to section 1 of this act to the United States Department of Labor for approval as a state OSH plan that would, if approved, preempt federal standards. The proposed State OSH plan shall meets all requirements for state OSH plans under subsection (c) of 29 U.S.C. s.667, and any other applicable federal standards.
b. If the United States Department of Labor rejects the proposed plan submitted pursuant to subsection a. of this section, the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development shall take all necessary steps to rectify deficiencies in the plan and resubmit the updated plan to the United States Department of Labor.
3. Section 2 of this act shall take effect immediately, and section 1 of this act shall take effect upon the United States Department of Labor's approval of the State OSH plan concerning standards provided for that section.
STATEMENT
This bill provides for the establishment of a state occupational safety and health plan (state OSH plan) concerning "Toilets at Construction Jobsites." In order for the plan to take effect, the State is required to submit the plan to the federal government for approval. The plan is required to be at least as effective in providing safe and healthful employment and places of employment as the standards promulgated by the federal government that are related to the same issues.
The federal standards for toilets at construction sites are as follows:
For 20 or fewer employees; one toilet shall be provided;
For 20 or more employees but less than 200, one toilet and one urinal shall be provided for every 40 employees; and
For 200 or more employees, one toilet seat and one urinal for every 50 workers.
Although the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) provides recommended best practices for toilets at construction sites that include providing separate bathrooms for male and female workers, these standards are not required by federal law.
If approved, the toilet standards provided by the bill will include separate toilet facilities for each gender and separate toilet facilities for every 20 employees. The proposed standards under the bill are more effective than current federal standards as they incorporate federal best practices in addition to federal requirements. The standards included under the bill are modeled after California's standards for toilet at construction sites but are not identical to those standards.
