Earlier this month, the Supreme Court of Texas handed PPF Gin & Warehouse, LLC a big win by denying Delta County Appraisal District's petition for Review. In this case, the Court of Appeals had essentially ruled that module trucks cannot be included as taxable property in the Appraisal District's valuation. The basis of this ruling [...]
Since 1997, the TCGA, in conjunction with the National Cotton Ginners' Association and other Regional Associations, have maintained a publication called "A Ginner's Practical Guide to Compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (MSPA). This guide was originally developed in conjunction with the US Department [...]
It is with deep regret that we inform you all that Roy Baker has passed away. Here is his obituary: The family of Roy Baker will celebrate his life of 83 years at 10:00 AM on Thursday, March 24, 2022, at the Lake Ridge Chapel and Memorial Designers. His family will host a time of [...]
At least one cotton gin in Texas has been inspected by OSHA this month under a Site-Specific Targeting inspection plan. For these types of inspections, the OSHA inspector is given a list of companies to inspect. They are specifically looking at the companies' OSHA 300 and 300A forms, and the DART rate for those companies. [...]
Be sure to register early if you are wanting to attend gin school this year! Due to federal Covid restrictions placed on USDA employees, each of the schools will be limited to 50 students per level, and any local Covid restrictions will be followed. The schools will also be a little shorter this year, following [...]
We received notice from the Coalition for Workplace Safety late yesterday that the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has dissolved the stay on the Covid ETS (ETS). This means the ETS is now in effect, and that OSHA got an early Christmas present. While the ETS will almost certainly now head [...]
Two gins on the Gulf Coast were visited by Department of Labor Wage and Hour inspectors during this season. In addition, two gins have been inspected in West Texas this week. There is a good chance more gins will be inspected in West Texas. If any W&H inspectors have contacted your gin, please let us [...]
We have been getting a lot of questions about H-2A workers recently. In addition, we are in the process of wrapping up two Wage and Hour Inspections from earlier in this ginning season. It still remains to be seen whether the inspectors will show up in West Texas, but if they do, it is important [...]
As we reported earlier, lawsuits challenging the OSHA Covid Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) have been filed all over the country. The ETS is currently being stayed due to a ruling from the 5th Circuit Court (New Orleans). Earlier this week, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation assigned all the ETS litigation to the 6th Circuit [...]
TCGA member gins have experienced several significant accidents in the past few days. In response, the trust has issued a safety alert in English and Spanish. Please click the links to access these alerts. It is critical that we continue to emphasize lockout/tagout to our workers, and to be sure they are implementing it while [...]
