Short answer: both states use the federal construction table in 29 CFR 1926.51. Provide one toilet for up to 20 workers, then one seat and one urinal for every 40, and every 50 once you reach 200. Texas sites answer to federal OSHA; New Mexico sites answer to the state’s own program, which adopts the same standard.
Who enforces it where
A builder working both sides of the state line deals with two inspectors but one rulebook. Texas has no state plan for private employers, so federal OSHA’s El Paso area office handles complaints and inspections on Texas sites. New Mexico runs an approved state plan through the Environment Department’s Occupational Health and Safety Bureau, and that bureau adopts the federal construction standards. The toilet table is identical in Socorro and in Sunland Park.
The table, applied to real crews
| Crew | Required | Standard units |
|---|---|---|
| A 6-person roofing crew | One toilet | 1 |
| 18 framers and laborers | One toilet | 1 |
| 38 on a school addition | One seat and one urinal per 40 | 1 |
| 90 on a warehouse in Santa Teresa | One seat and one urinal per 40 | 3 |
| 220 at a plant expansion | One seat and one urinal per 50 | 5 |
Three details people miss
- Unisex units are fine. Separate rooms for men and women are not required when each toilet holds one person at a time and locks from inside, which every portable cabin does.
- Mobile crews get an exception. Paragraph (c)(4) says the toilet requirements do not apply to mobile crews that have transportation readily available to nearby toilets. A survey crew with a truck qualifies; a framing crew on one lot does not.
- Clean is part of the rule. In a 2006 letter OSHA said a toilet kept in unsanitary condition has not been provided, and it pointed to the ANSI Z4.3 benchmark of a weekly cleaning for a unit serving up to 10 people.
Washing is a separate line item
Paragraph (f) requires washing facilities with water, soap and single-use towels. A cabin with no basin does not satisfy it. On most sites a two-person wash station next to the toilets covers it; we plan one for every 20 workers.
Who provides the toilets on a shared site
On a multi-employer project, the general contractor usually rents the toilets for everyone and writes that into subcontracts. If your crew is on someone else’s site, ask before you rent, so the site is not paying for duplicates. If nobody has arranged it, each employer is responsible for its own workers.
From the legal minimum to a usable count
The table only counts heads. With weekly cleaning, plan about 10 workers per unit for a 40-hour week. Our crew counter shows both numbers side by side. A 90-person crew is legal with three units, but nine keeps them clean enough to count.
Sources: 29 CFR 1926.51; OSHA interpretation letter, May 17, 2006; NM Occupational Health and Safety Bureau. A summary, not legal advice.
Web storyJob-site toilet rules in Texas and New MexicoOSHA Table D-1 for crews on both sides of the state line: how many units, washing, cleaning and the mobile-crew exception.