Scorching temperatures are not letting up across much of the Southwest, including Texas, just as the issue of how to protect outdoor workers heats up in Washington.

Last week, 112 members of Congress wrote to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to urge the agency to implement a federal workplace heat standard.

Juley Fulcher, health and safety advocate for the nonprofit consumer rights advocacy group Public Citizen, said OSHA needs to enact both an interim and permanent rule as deadly heat waves spread because of climate change.

"OSHA is currently working on developing a workplace heat standard," Fulcher acknowledged. "However, on average it takes OSHA about seven to eight years to do a rule from beginning to end. They're working on it, they're chugging along, but we are at least a couple years out from getting a rule."

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TDI issued a bulletin on reporting cybersecurity incidents. A domestic insurance company should contact FinancialAnalysis@tdi.texas.gov if the company discovers an unauthorized acquisition, release, or use of personal information or sensitive company information. All others can send breach notices to CyberReporting@tdi.texas.gov. The bulletin can be found here.

The National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) filed Item B-1449—Revisions to Basic Manual Rules Related to Service Charges and Automatic Gratuities. NCCI proposes these changes to clarify that service charges and automatic gratuities are included in payroll.

View the NCCI Manual Rule Filings for 2023 web page for a copy of the notice, filing, and information on how to submit comments.

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Over 700 industry leaders and stakeholders gathered July 10-12 in Austin for the annual Texas Workers’ Compensation Conference hosted by the Texas Division of Workers’ Compensation. The conference was one of the most well-attended to date, and the sessions proved to be both popular and educational for attendees from across the state and nation. The conference theme, “Basics and Beyond,” gave newcomers and veterans both a basic overview of the industry and latest in workers’ compensation trends. The 22 sessions included workplace safety issues, a legislative overview, and several expert panels, among many others.

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The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association Board of Directors will meet at the Tremont House in Galveston on Tuesday, August 8 at 9:00 a.m. CT. The Board is expected to consider the Association’s statutorily required annual rate filing for 2024 policies.

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Houstonians pride themselves on how they tolerate heat. This summer, the heat has become intolerable. 

Businesses and residents in America’s fourth-largest city have moved much of life indoors, changing work and spending habits. Some residents say they are reminded of quarantining during the pandemic’s early days: ordering in groceries, avoiding social commitments and looking for ways to stay entertained from the couch. 

The result is a dent to the local economy that could become an annual pattern if summers stay hotter for longer. 

“This year is different, people are staying home,” said Barbara Stewart, a professor of human development and consumer sciences at the University of Houston.

At Buffalo Bayou Brewing, a taproom and restaurant in the Heights neighborhood, fewer people are coming to the restaurant during the day, said Jonathan Horowitz, chief revenue and strategy officer. Earlier this month, the restaurant purchased two new portable cooling units to put behind the rooftop deck’s bar to better keep staff cool. 

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The Atlantic hurricane season's typical peak is still to come as we begin August and the annual ramp up in tropical activity.

T​his season has already had the fourth most active start of any season since 1851 with five storms and one hurricane through July 28.

Hurricane season runs from June through November, but in most years, the first two months of the season are typically the calmest. June averages only one named storm every other year, and July has averaged one named storm per year since 1950.

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As if we needed more reminders of the impacts of Earth’s warming, it’s being reported:

“that climate change is destabilizing the insurance industry, driving up prices and pushing insurers out of high-risk markets.”

State Farm, the largest homeowner insurance company in California, announced it would stop “accepting new applications including all business and personal lines property and casualty insurance.” The company blamed its decision on “historic increases in construction costs outpacing inflation, rapidly growing catastrophe exposure, and a challenging reinsurance market.”

The catastrophe State Farm no longer wants exposure to is wildfires. There’s a strong connection between climate change and the incidence and destruction of these conflagrations. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration links longer and more active fire seasons to rising temperatures and drier conditions.

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