Texas Groups File Lawsuit to Block OSHA’s Safety Enforcement Role

Texas Groups File Lawsuit to Block OSHA’s Safety Enforcement Role

Two Texas produce industry trade groups have filed a lawsuit in federal court seeking to have the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) barred from enforcing existing safety standards.

The suit, filed in the Amarillo federal district court by the Texas International Produce Association and the Texas Vegetable Association, is the latest court challenge to OSHA’s enforcement power. It claims Congress improperly delegated its legislative power to OSHA when it created the safety agency in 1971 and empowered OSHA to adopt any standards it deems “reasonably necessary and appropriate,” without defining those terms. As a result, it argues, OSHA has had too much latitude to adopt burdensome and unnecessary regulations.

The latest suit is similar to one the U.S. Supreme Court declined to consider last year, although two conservative justices, Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch, dissented at the time, with Thomas writing, “If this far-reaching grant of authority does not impermissibly confer legislative power on an agency, it is hard to imagine what would.”

The Texas case will be heard by U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, who was appointed by President Trump and has issued several rulings backing conservative legal arguments. Any appeal would be heard by the New Orleans-based 5th Circuit, considered one of the most conservative federal appeals courts.

The case is Texas International Produce Association v. Occupational Safety & Health Administration, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, No. 2:25-cv-0261.

Report Sheds Light on Challenging Factors for U.S. Workers’ Comp Market

The U.S. workers’ compensation market stands at an inflection point as 2026 begins. After nearly a decade of declining rates and favorable conditions, insurance carriers are confronting a fundamentally altered landscape driven by medical inflation, cumulative trauma litigation, and reserve adequacy concerns, according to a report from Risk Placement Services.

The report notes that medical inflation, cumulative trauma litigation, and concerns of reserve cushions could negatively affect carriers in 2026.

According to the report, medical inflation continues to drive the severity of claim costs, with the Workers’ Compensation Weighted Medical Price Index (WCWMI) reflecting inflation rates between 2% and 3.5%. Meanwhile, the report notes hybrid work environments bring additional challenges, as they can blur the lines between personal and work-related injuries.

As a result, costs of lower-end claims have surged, particularly for the noncatastrophic ones. Additionally, a large percentage of these claims are cumulative trauma (CT) claims, such as repetitive stress injuries, which further contribute to the rising costs. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) predicts that health care spending will rise by 5.4% each year through 2028, with Medicare experiencing the fastest spending growth amid ongoing medical inflation concerns.

According to NCCI data, the costliest lost-time workers’ compensation claims result from motor vehicle accidents, costing more than $100,000 on average. This is followed by burns, with an average of $63,119. These severity figures underscore why even a single catastrophic claim can devastate smaller premium accounts.

The report is available here.

NCCI Survey Highlights Top WC Concerns of Insurance Executives

Executives at workers’ compensation insurers expressed concern over the insurance line’s financial health and rate adequacy in a recent survey of insurance carriers conducted by the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI).

The survey draws feedback from more than 100 carriers annually. The most recent survey found executives were also concerned about the following issues:

  • Economic uncertainty.
  • Medical costs and inflation.
  • The changing workforce and workplace.
  • Growing attention on artificial intelligence (AI).

NCCI says executives expressed concerns about the steady decline in workers’ compensation rates and loss costs, and the implications for carrier rate adequacy. This trend is driven by decreases in claim frequency, moderate medical and indemnity claim cost changes, and growing wages, which drive premium growth.

The combined ratio for calendar year 2025 is projected to be between 85% and 93%, making it the 12th consecutive year with a combined ratio under 100%.

While economic uncertainty has come up consistently in survey results for several years, NCCI says the issue is drawing more attention this year. While job growth has stagnated, wage growth remains elevated, supporting payroll and premium growth for workers’ compensation.

Although medical inflation remains in line with the five-year average, medical severity in 2024 grew by about 6%, pointing to an uptick in utilization of medical services.

With the prevalence of generic drugs and existing plans from major manufacturers to produce domestically, NCCI predicts a diminished risk to price increases for drugs from tariffs. Currently, medical inflation and its impact on workers’ compensation is moderate, in the range of 2.5-3.5%.

Impending retirements, a talent shortage, and an aging workforce are regularly cited as drivers of uncertainty around a changing workforce. Evolving workforce demographics are reshaping workplace risk profiles and impacting workers’ compensation claims.

There was a notable rise this year in executives mentioning AI. While carriers are gaining operational efficiencies with AI tools, the potential impact on payroll and the future workforce remains uncertain.

More information is available here.

Employers’ Salary Plans for 2026 Highlighted

Employers plan to hold base salary increases for merit at 3.2% and total increases at 3.5%, which encompasses all salary increases, including for merit, promotions, cost-of-living, and other adjustments, in 2026 — the same as the actual increases employers reported in 2025.

That’s according to a new survey from Mercer.

Looking ahead, 61% of the employers surveyed anticipate that the economy will have a moderate to significant impact on compensation decisions in 2026. Nevertheless, employers remain committed to prioritizing skill and talent development (34%), market competitiveness (31%), and compensation adjustments (24%) next year.

However, more than eight out of 10 employers (83%) indicated they would distribute their salary increase budgets equally across the organization, rather than directing more resources toward high-demand skills or critical market gaps. Further, employers plan to promote fewer employees in 2026 — around 9% of their workforce, down from 10% in 2025, with an average pay increase for promotions of 8.7%.

The survey also found that AI and automation have a limited impact on hiring and compensation decisions. Only 2% of respondents cited AI and automation as a reason for reduced hiring, and 57% reported stable hiring volumes despite AI adoption. Additionally, only 9% of organizations said they plan to make headcount changes related to AI.

The survey found compensation trends vary across industries. Health care services and retail continue to report lower merit increases than other industries, at 2.9%, and total increases of 3.4% and 3.3%, respectively, reflecting the headwinds these industries face. Meanwhile, the financial services, energy, and high-tech sectors anticipate delivering higher total increases, at 3.7%.

The survey was fielded between Oct. 20 and Oct. 31 and includes data from 1,013 organizations in the United States.

More information about the survey is available here.

Workers Cite Toxic Environment and Poor Management as Top Concerns

A pair of separate surveys released recently by Monster find sharp increases in the number of employees reporting toxic workplaces, poor mental health, and a willingness to quit rather than endure unhealthy work environments.

Monster’s 2025 Mental Health in the Workplace survey of more than 1,100 U.S. workers found 80% of workers now say they work in a toxic environment, up from 67% in 2024. Even more troubling, 93% say their employer isn’t doing enough to support their mental health, a sharp increase from 78% last year. Workers are also reaching a breaking point: More than half (57%) say they would rather quit than stay in a toxic workplace.

In fact, a separate Monster survey found that 47% of survey respondents say they have abruptly left a job, or “revenge quit,” defined as suddenly resigning without notice as a protest against unsatisfactory treatment or a toxic environment. More than half of workers (57%) said they have witnessed at least one co-worker take such action.

The mental health survey found that 71% of workers describe their mental health at work as poor (40%) or fair (31%). Only 29% call it good (20%) or great (9%). Top causes cited for their poor mental health include:

  • Toxic work culture, 59%.
  • A bad manager, 54%.
  • Lack of growth opportunities, 47%.
  • Increased workload, 47%.
  • Staffing shortages, 33%.

Top reasons workers cited for revenge quitting include:

  • Toxic work environment, 32%.
  • Poor management or leadership, 31%.
  • Feeling disrespected or undervalued, 23%.
  • Unmet promises or expectations, 5%.
  • Low pay or lack of benefits, 4%.
  • Poor work-life balance, 3%.
  • Lack of career growth opportunities, 2%.

Information about the mental health survey is available here.

Information about the revenge quitting survey is available here.

Surveys Examine Worker Burnout and Retention

Only one in four employees feel appreciated and just 26% are engaged in their work, according to a survey from the Achievers Workforce Institute (AWI).

The survey is one of two separate surveys released recently that point to a workforce at a crossroads. More than half (55%) of the U.S. workforce is experiencing burnout, according to a recent survey from Eagle Hill Consulting.

The Eagle Hill Consulting Workforce Survey 2025 finds that burnout’s effects are widespread:

  • 72% say burnout diminishes their efficiency
  • 71% say it hurts their overall job performance
  • 65% say it weakens their ability to serve customers
  • 64% say it reduces their ability to innovate
  • 56% say it impacts attendance

Employees attribute burnout equally to the work itself (50%), including workload and work type, and the people aspect of work (50%), such as collaboration, relationships and team dynamics. Yet many employees struggle without support. Only 42% of burned-out workers have told their manager about their burnout. Among those who do speak up, 42% say their manager takes no action to help reduce their burnout.

Meanwhile, the AWI survey found just 25% of employees envision a long career with their current company, and 34% say they plan to get a new job in 2026. According to AWI, if 34% of the U.S. full-time workforce switches jobs in 2026, the cost of turnover, based on median salary and standard replacement ranges, is estimated between $1.3 trillion and $5.1 trillion.

The AWI survey points to possible ways to influence workers to stay. According to the survey, employees who feel appreciated are 17 times more likely to see a long-term career at their company. Additionally, only 17% of employees feel fairly compensated, and 75% say removing rewards would influence their decision to leave.

The Eagle Hill Consulting survey is available here.

Information for downloading the AWI survey is available here.

State News

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PR Newswire
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Wyoming News
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General News

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WorkersCompensation.com
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