REMINDER - OSHA requires annual posting of injury and illness data. Cotton gins, grain, feed and processing facilities are required to complete the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) injury and illness record-keeping obligations by posting the Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses (OSHA Form 300A) in each facility. OSHA requires the notice be displayed [...]
It is time once again to complete your cost survey for the 2024 Ginning Season. This data is very important for TCGA, as we use it for comparing the various power companies, and for development of arguments in our rate cases. You can use this data to compare your operations efficiency with other gins throughout [...]
We received notice from a few gin members that some of their growers are receiving scam phone calls regarding their PPP Loans. Apparently, the scammers are spoofing phone numbers that appear on caller ID as the local Sheriff's Office. The person tells them they are in violation of issues regarding their loan application and mentions [...]
The 2025 Adverse Effect Wage Rates (AEWR) were published in the Federal Register on December 16. The new by state are shown below: For H2A payroll starting December 30th: TX current rate $15.55 new rate $15.79 inc 1.52% KS current rate $18.32 new rate $19.21 inc 4.63% For H2A payroll starting December 16th: [...]
There is a new TCEQ notification requirement for facilities with certain types of permits without an expiration date (open-ended), including certain Air Permits by Rule (PBR), Standard Permits (SP) and Tire Registrations. Companies with these types of permits must now report the operational status of the permitted facility annually to TCEQ. These are not the [...]
The 2025 Adverse Effect Wage Rates (AEWR) are expected to be published in the Federal Register soon. This generally occurs at the end of the year. The AEWR is the minimum hourly wage an H2A worker can be paid. The AEWR is established using the USDA National Ag Statistics Service (NASS) Farm Labor Survey (FLS) [...]
We are still gathering some information on this decision, but the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas issued a nationwide preliminary injunction against the enforcement of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA). This case questioned the CTA's constitutionality and its impact on small business. This will most likely result in a long legal [...]
As you may know, there was recently a serious accident resulting in two fatalities at a cotton gin in the Mid-South. Two people walking across the gin yard were struck by a front-end loader carrying a round cotton module. Our understanding is one was an employee and the other was a contractor. They were standing [...]
FDA reminds Human and Animal Food Facilities to Register or Renew Registration between October 1 and December 31, 2024. This is a renewal that occurs on all “EVEN” numbered years. Owners, operators, or agents in charge of a domestic or foreign facility engaged in manufacturing/processing, packing, or holding food for consumption by humans or animals [...]
TCEQ is sending out the notice shown below to many facilities in the state which currently have a standard permit or permit by rule registered for their facility. The reporting requirement specified in the notice is a result from the TCEQ Sunset process that occurred last legislative session. Many of these standard permits or permits [...]
