Texas Lawmakers Launch Special Session With a Full Agenda

Texas Lawmakers Launch Special Session With a Full Agenda

Texas legislators returned to Austin on July 21, 2025, for the first special session of the 89th Legislature, called by Gov. Greg Abbott. Under state law, the governor holds the power to convene special sessions and set the agenda.

This session comes just weeks after lawmakers concluded their 140-day regular session on June 2. Special sessions are limited to 30 days, with this one scheduled to end by Aug. 19 — unless lawmakers adjourn earlier. If the Legislature fails to deliver on the governor’s priorities, Abbott has the authority to call additional sessions, as he did four times during the 88th Legislature in 2023.

The governor first signaled the special session on June 23, citing several pressing issues, including regulation of THC and hemp products, a topic that has sparked ongoing debate across the state.

In a politically charged move, Abbott also added congressional redistricting to the agenda, following a request from President Trump to increase Republican representation in the U.S. House. Redistricting typically follows the decennial census, but Republican leaders fear losing their majority and are seeking to redraw current maps mid-decade to secure up to five additional GOP seats.

The move has drawn criticism and consequences. California Gov. Gavin Newsom has warned that if Texas proceeds, his state may follow suit to counterbalance any GOP gains. In Texas, Democratic legislators have pledged to participate only in discussions related to flood and disaster relief, potentially boycotting the redistricting debate. With Democrats holding 62 of the 150 House seats, they have enough members to block a quorum, which requires a two-thirds majority.

The stakes grew even higher when catastrophic flooding hit Texas on July 4, claiming at least 135 lives. In response, Abbott elevated flood response and disaster recovery to the top of the legislative agenda.

A full list of topics included in the governor’s call for the session is available here.

U.S. Department of Labor Proposing Changes to Dozens of Workplace Rules

The U.S. Department of Labor wants to rewrite or repeal more than 60 workplace regulations it says are obsolete, including three that affect how the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) would regulate workplace safety.

Other proposed changes range from mine safety to minimum wage requirements for home health care workers and standards governing exposure to harmful substances. Most of the proposed changes must pass through several rulemaking procedures, including public comment, before taking effect.

The OSHA-related changes include withdrawing a Biden-era proposal that would have required employers to record work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) in a special column on the OSHA 300 Log. OSHA noted that since employers currently must record work-related MSDs anyway, the creation of a dedicated column for recording that data would not meaningfully enhance the quality of the data.

The withdrawal notice is available here.

In a separate action, OSHA lowered the penalties it charges small businesses that work in good faith to come into compliance with safety regulations.

The new policy increases the amount of penalty reductions available for small employers, making it easier for small businesses to invest resources in compliance and hazard abatement. For example, a penalty reduction level of 70%, which was previously only applicable for businesses with 10 or fewer employees, will now be expanded to include businesses who employ up to 25 employees. The revisions also include new guidelines for a 15% penalty reduction for employers who immediately take steps to address or correct a hazard.

The updated policy also expands the penalty reduction for employers without a history of serious, willful, repeat, or failure-to-abate OSHA violations.

The new policy is available here.

OSHA also wants to rescind a requirement that employers provide adequate lighting at construction sites, saying the regulation doesn’t substantially reduce a significant risk. OSHA said if employers fail to correct lighting deficiencies at construction worksites, the agency can issue citations under its general duty clause.

SHRM Survey Highlights Changes Employers Are Making to Benefit Programs

A pair of recently released surveys shed light on the ways employers are crafting benefit programs.

According to the Society for Human Resource Management’s (SHRM) 2025 Employee Benefits Survey, 88% of HR professionals surveyed rated health benefits extremely or very important to their organization.

Other key findings in SHRM’s 2025 Employee Benefits Survey include:

  • Some 68% of organizations still prioritize flexible work benefits, signaling the importance of adaptability in talent retention.
  • Traditional 401(k) options remain prevalent with 93% of employers offering them, while 76% of employers now offer Roth 401(k) plans, up 3 percentage points from last year and continuing their consistent upward trend.
  • Only 13% of organizations offer eldercare referral services, a figure that has remained unchanged from last year.
  • Leadership coaching has risen significantly, with 47% of organizations now offering leadership development programs, up 3 percentage points from 2024.
  • Benefits related to employee well-being saw a significant decline over the past few years, with 39% of employers offering wellness programs with resources in 2025, down from 53% in 2021.

The survey was conducted from Jan. 21 to March 10, 2025, and yielded responses from 3,969 U.S.-based professional members of SHRM. More information about the survey is available here.

Meanwhile, a separate benefits survey from Gallagher shows a trend among employers to adopt approaches that include physical, emotional, career and financial health. Key findings from the Gallagher survey include:

  • While 31% of employers have enhanced medical benefits to support recruitment and retention in 2025, only 12% are focused on improving pharmacy benefits.
  • Employers are considering adjustments to medical (31%) or prescription drug (26%) plan designs. Others are considering switching plan carriers (29%) or conducting eligibility (16%) or claims (16%) audits. Nearly a third of employers (32%) are carving out pharmacy benefits to a pharmacy benefit manager, marking an increase of 13 percentage points from 2024.

More information about the survey is available here.

Employers Moving to "Return to the Office" Status

For the first time since the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020, more than half of Fortune 100 companies are requiring employees to be fully back to work, according to a report from real estate company Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. (JLL).

JLL says 54% of the Fortune 100 were in fully “return to the office” (RTO) mode in the second quarter of 2025, compared to just 5% as recently as 2023. However, the report notes that while large firms are moving toward a full RTO, most other companies still use a hybrid of in-house and remote staffing.

The JLL report says the three largest employers in the Fortune 100 now require full in-office attendance. Another four of the top 10 employers require office attendance a minimum of four days a week.

The report notes that attendance policies are expected to continue shifting toward more required attendance amid more employer-favorable labor market conditions. According to the report, organizations currently require workers to be in the office an average of 3.8 days a week, compared to 2.6 days in 2023, resulting in a 1.3% year-over-year increase in office attendance in the first two months of 2025’s second quarter.

By contrast, a recent survey from Gallup, Inc., finds little movement in the percentage of U.S. employees with remote-capable jobs. The Gallup poll data show 51% of employees with remote-capable jobs working hybrid in 2025, compared to 52% in May 2023.

The JLL report is available here.

Study: Salary Increases Projected to Remain Stable in 2026

Average salary increases at U.S. companies are expected to remain stable at 3.5% in 2026, according to a recent survey from WTW. The projected increases match 2025’s actual increases.

Despite stable pay increases, employees are staying put. Fewer organizations this year have found employee stability challenging compared to the past two years. Less than one-third of organizations (30%) report difficulty attracting or retaining employees, representing a decrease of 11 percentage points since 2023.

In response to market conditions, in which turnover is relatively low and burnout and disengagement remain a concern, organizations have taken a number of actions to support their workforce, including improving the employee experience (47%), enhancing health and wellness benefits (43%), and increasing training opportunities (40%).

Additionally, employers are adjusting compensation programs to address the competitive labor market and inflationary pressures. These actions have included conducting a compensation review of all employees (50%), performing a compensation review of specific employee groups (48%), hiring people higher in relevant salary ranges (45%), and raising starting salary ranges (40%). Over two-fifths of organizations (43%) have enhanced their use of retention bonuses or spot awards and 37% have targeted base salary increases for specific employee groups.

Organizations continue to wrestle with higher annual payroll expenses. The average annual payroll expense increased by 3.6%, and seven in 10 organizations report total annual payroll expenses higher than last year.

The survey was conducted from April to June of 2025 and included 29,128 responses from companies across 157 countries worldwide. In the U.S., 1,569 organizations responded. More information is available here.

Report Outlines Steps to Maintaining Sufficient Labor Force

A new report from The Conference Board says the U.S. must add at least 4.6 million workers annually through 2033 to maintain a sufficient labor force.

The report calls for expanding labor force participation, strategically increasing immigration, and aligning worker skills with evolving economic demands. Among its recommendations:

  • Increase the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) to promote work and reduce hardship among low-income workers. Remove age eligibility restrictions that penalize those over 65 or under 25.
  • Increase support for working parents through expanded funding for the Child Care and Development Fund and potentially reforming the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit. Employers may also consider providing on-site childcare facilities.
  • Congress should also address tax penalties for secondary earners, typically women, which disincentivize labor force participation.
  • Secure U.S. borders by providing additional resources for U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Increase the U.S. immigration court system’s capacity, enforce stricter consequences for illegal entry, and require use of the E-Verify system.
  • Expand pathways to legal status by expanding and modernizing employment visa programs (e.g., H-1B and H-2B). This should include setting visa limits based on market factors, granting work authorizations to certain visa holders’ spouses, and allowing visa holders to self-sponsor for permanent residence provided certain conditions are met.
  • Extend the duration of the Optional Practice Training program for student visa holders with in-demand skills and provide a near-automatic pathway to permanent residence for graduates employed in high-demand fields.
  • Congress should consider boosting career and technical education (CTE) funding through both the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) and Perkins V programs that integrate education, job training, and employer input, especially in underserved regions.

More information on the report is available here.

Generation Z Workers More About "Situationship" Jobs Than Careers

The traditional career ladder doesn’t hold much appeal for Gen Z (13- to 28-year-olds), at least not in its current form. Short job stints. Sudden exits. Minimal loyalty. These are not outliers — they’re becoming the norm among Gen Z professionals, according to a recent survey.

Gateway Commercial Finance recently surveyed more than 1,000 employees, split evenly between Gen Z workers and hiring managers. Among its key findings:

  • Some 58% of Gen Z professionals admit to taking a job they knew was a “situationship” — short-term, low-commitment, and never meant to be long-term.
  • Only one in four Gen Z professionals (25%) say they’re invested in their job long-term.
  • Nearly one in three Gen Z employees (30%) have ghosted an employer, quitting without notice or explanation.
  • 47% of Gen Z professionals plan to leave their job within a year, and half of them say they’re ready to leave at any moment.
  • Overall, 46% of Gen Z professionals believe that staying loyal to one employer is rewarded in today’s job market.
  • More than one in three hiring managers (36%) say they’ve chosen not to hire a Gen Z candidate due to concerns about job-hopping.

But some employers are taking proactive steps to improve retention. The most popular strategies include offering more flexible scheduling (48%) and establishing clearer growth paths (42%). Other approaches include enhancing benefits and mentorship programs (both at 34%), as well as offering bonuses or raises (25%).

More information about the survey is available here.

Aging Population Increases Popularity of Senior Care Benefits

The U.S. population is aging rapidly, presenting a new challenge for employers and employees alike. For the first time in U.S. history, there are more working adults providing care to an older adult (22.8 million) than those providing care to preschool children (21 million).

And the gap will continue to increase in the coming years. The John A. Hartford Foundation estimates that between 2025 and 2050, the number of adults age 65 and older will increase from 63 million to 82 million. And the “oldest old” ranks are growing even faster: The number of adults age 85 and older is projected to more than double between 2025 and 2050, from 7 million to 17 million.

This shifting demographic presents a caregiving challenge for today’s workers, who increasingly must care for an aging adult. And that can also be a challenge for employers, who must find ways to retain workers.

A recent report from Care.com notes that a lack of adequate and affordable eldercare costs U.S. employers $44 billion a year in recruitment, retention and productivity challenges. For its 2024 Future of Benefits report, Care.com surveyed 620 Human Resources leaders and 1,000 American workers across industries. When asked what benefits they currently lack that could entice them to switch jobs, 21% of the respondents cited senior care benefits. The appeal of this benefit was nearly equal across generations (with fewer than 5% separating Millennials from Boomers), belying the notion that it’s primarily Boomers and Gen X employees who need it.

A recent Catalyst/Harris survey found 59% of employees would use caregiving benefits for eldercare or the care of other relatives if available from their organization.

More information about the Care.com survey is available here.

More information about the Catalyst/Harris survey is available here.

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