restrooms in the U.S. but have been eliminated by 1980 and public facilities did not replace them. South Africa During the apartheid years in South Africa, public toilets were usually segregated by race. Legislation Sex separation United States Massachusetts passed the first law requiring sex separation of public toilets in 1887. By 1920, this was mandated in 43 states. In jurisdictions using the Uniform Plumbing Code in the U.S., sex separation is a legal mandate via the building code. Toilets for employees and customers Various countries have legislation stipulating how many public toilets are required in a given area for employees or for customers. United States The Restroom Access Act is legislation several U.S. States passed that requires retail establishments with toilet facilities for employees to also allow customers to use the facilities if the customer suffers from an inflammatory bowel disease or other medical condition requiring immediate access to a toilet. United Kingdom In the United Kingdom, the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 requires businesses to provide toilets for their employees, along with washing facilities including soap or other suitable means of cleaning. The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Approved Code of Practice and Guidance L24, available from Health and Safety Executive Books, outlines guidance on the number of toilets to provide and the type of washing facilities associated with them. Local authorities are not legally required to provide public toilets, and while in 2008 the House of Commons Communities and Local Government Committee called for a duty on local authorities to develop a public toilet strategy, the Government rejected the proposal. In 2022 the UK Government Equality Minister Kemi Badenoch announced plans to make provision of single-sex toilets compulsory in new public buildings above a certain size. The technical review consultation on increasing accessibility and provision of toilets for men and women in municipal and private sector locations outlined the context in a call for evidence to be submitted: Equality of access The presence or absence of public toilets has also long been a reflection of a society's class inequalities and social hierarchies. In the UK the number of public toilets fell by nearly 20% from 3,154 in 2015/16 to 2,556 in 2020/21 This loss leads to health and mobility inequality issues for a range of people, including the homeless, disabled, outdoor workers and those whose illnesses mean that they frequently need to access a toilet.