The OSHA electronic reporting rule becomes effective on December 1 for all gins with 20 or more employees. This means that if you are an affected employer, you have until December 1 to log onto the OSHA web site and report the data from 2016. Data reported is basically the information from the OSHA 300A [...]
I was visiting with some of the Southeastern folks earlier this week, and talk turned to hiring practices. In many of those states, they have mandatory e-verify requirements, so hiring can be a more difficult process. During this process, Dusty Findley of Southeastern Cotton Ginners made a point that I had never considered - you may [...]
The Southwest Council of Agribusiness announced today that the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue will be speaking at their annual meeting in Lamesa this Friday. The Secretary is coming as a special guest of U.S. House Agriculture Committee Chairman Mike Conaway, who will also be attending the annual meeting. SWCA has moved their annual [...]
Under the Bioterrorism Act of 2002, cotton gins were required to register with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This registration requirement has been in place since December 12 of 2002. Even after almost 15 years, however, gins are still having questions about this process, and the process is evolving. In 2011, FDA's role was updated [...]
The Office of the Texas State Chemist (OTSC) hosted a conference call yesterday, in response to the FDA Notice related to Hurricanes, Flooding, and Power Outages. The Office of the Texas State Chemist is the State Agency that enforces the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act. During the conference call, OTSC stressed that they were available [...]
In response to the flooding related to Hurricane Harvey, FDA issued a notice that any food or food ingredients exposed to flood waters may not enter the food chain. This notice is not specific to cotton or field crops, but covers all types of human and animal feeds. Click here to read the full notice. In [...]
On August 31, a Texas Federal judge invalidated the expansion of the federal overtime rule. As the rule was originally written, the salary threshold for employees to qualify as exempt from overtime pay requirements was increased from $23,660 per year to $47,476 per year. District Court Judge Amos L. Mazzant found that DOL does not [...]
The OSHA Electronic Submission of Injury and Illness Records rule became effective on January 1, 2017. Under the original rule, gins were required to submit the records from their completed 2016 Form 300A. by July 1, 2017. After the first year, covered establishments must submit the information by March 2 of each year. When July 1 rolled around, the [...]
Sharyland Utilities announced today that its customers will now become customers of Oncor. This deal is a part of the settlements in PUC Docket 46957 - Application of Oncor Electric Delivery Company LLC for Authority to Change Rates, and PUC Docket 45414 - Review of the Rates of Sharyland Utility Company. In essence, the Sharyland Distribution [...]
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has issued a new version of the I-9 form. Employers must begin using this form by September 18, but you can start using the new form now if you would like. On our web site, we have three I-9 related links under "Gin Resources"/"Forms and Form Information". The first [...]
