September 14, 2020
In Brief
In this issue of the Monday Morning Messenger, the Texas Propane Gas Association (TPGA) updates members on some changes at the Railroad Commission. It also provides you a staff directory with direct phone numbers of the staff in the Alternative Fuels Safety section.

Read our second story of the morning to learn what businesses need to know about family leave with the reopening of schools, under recent guidance from the U.S. Department of Labor. 

Additionally, the Texas Workforce Commission is hosting an employment law informational session online. Learn more about what will be covered and how you can tune in to the webinar this week. TPGA also provides member separately a list of legal & illegal questions you are and cannot ask job applicants that we recently published in our magazine.

Also, in this Messenger, TPGA breakdowns down all the very valuable, jam-packed information in the September issue of Texas Propane magazine with a link to the digital edition if prefer to read it online.
In this issue

  • In Brief
  • AFS RRC Update
  • Closed Schools: Employee Paid Leave What You Should Know
  • Employment Law Webinar
  • Magazine Top Stories
  • Quick Links
Calendar

September 17, 2020
TX Employment Law Webinar

September 17, 2020

September 22-24, 2020

September 28-30, 2020

September 30, 2020
Medical Card Waiver Expires

October 1, 2020

October 2 - 30, 2020
Alternative Fuels Safety
Railroad Commission Updates
AFS RRC Direct Contacts Update.  Are you having trouble getting through to the Railroad Commission of Texas' Alternative Fuel Safety section? TPGA is sharing their updated direct lines of staff with you this morning to help. Leave a message directly with the person you need to talk to to get a callback.
Please note the list of contacts will be updated again in October after some new hires. TPGA will share the list again once it is updated.
Training Update. Until just recently, in-person RRC AFS training classes were limited to 10 per class. The State of Texas is allowing indoor events with up to 50% of the establishment's standard capacity under the certificate of occupancy, permitting the Railroad Commission's Alternative Fuel Safety Division to open a few more spots per class. Check out the October training calendar for some openings.
In case you are trying to decipher what the online 2.1 dispenser class "for certificate holders" on October 2, 2020 is, it is for those who have taken the exam already but still have yet to take their initial training. October 2nd is the first initial training to be held online and the only one scheduled thus far. TPGA will alert members as more initial classes move online, and when exams finally move online as an option.
Closed Schools & Paid Leave:
What You Should Know
In a recent NPGA Reports, the National Propane Gas Association announced that the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published guidance on paid leave eligibility for parents as the school year commences. 

Part of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act allows for paid leave to care for children whose schools are closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With the beginning of the school year, schools are implementing various attendance structures, such as limited in-person, remote virtual learning, or a hybrid of the two.

The DOL has updated its Q & A page dedicated to the Families First Coronavirus Response Act to clarify paid leave eligibility for each school situation. 

Employers can go to https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/pandemic/ffcra-questions and scroll to the section Return to School if they get questions on paid leave from employees.

For additional questions, please contact the Texas Propane Gas Association at (800) 325-7427 or NPGA Deputy Counsel, Regulatory Affairs, Sarah Reboli at sreboli@npga.org.
Employment Law Webinar hosted by Texas Workforce Commission
The Texas Conference for Employers hosted by the Texas Workforce Commission presents Lunchtime Live on Thursday, September 17, 2020 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

The 90 minute virtual employment law session will cover wage & hour law, medical leave and payroll tax 101.
Speaking of employment law, did anyone see the latest article in the September Texas Propane magazine on Legal Vs. Illegal Questions you can and cannot ask job applicants?
INSIDE LOOK at September issue
of Texas Propane magazine
Speaking of the magazine, Legal & Illegal Questions you can ask job applicants article is not the only story worth reading in the September issue of Texas Propane magazine.

Here are some other stories you will also find in this latest edition:

  • How to Place Job Ads on Social Media (with what to post)
  • Tech School Grant Program (if add propane to curriculum)
  • New FREE Online Propane CSR Safety Training Program
  • Other FREE on the Job Online Propane Training
  • List of All Marketing Pieces to Get Will Call Customers to Fill Early
  • Plus, popular sections like People in Propane, Inside the Industry, Propane with Purpose and more
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