How to Handle Weather Closures as a Texas Employer
No reporting-time pay and no state OSHA, but extreme heat, hurricanes, and ice storms mean Texas employers still need a real weather policy.
Texas takes a hands-off approach to inclement weather policy regulation. There’s no state reporting-time pay law, no state OSHA plan, and no state-mandated paid leave that complicates weather closures. For employers, that means more flexibility in how you handle pay and scheduling during disruptions — but it also means there’s no regulatory safety net if your policy fails your team.
What Texas does have is weather. Extreme heat that can last months. A hurricane season that threatens the entire Gulf Coast. And, as Winter Storm Uri proved in 2021, rare cold events that can shut down the state’s infrastructure in ways nobody planned for.
Texas Inclement Weather Laws: What Employers Need to Know
Texas stands apart from states like California and New York in ways that simplify some decisions and complicate others:
| Regulation | What it means for employers |
|---|---|
| No reporting-time pay | If you send a team member home after they report to work, you owe them only for the hours they actually worked. No minimum pay floor applies under state law. |
| No state OSHA plan | Texas is under direct federal OSHA jurisdiction. There are no state-specific heat standards, smoke regulations, or enhanced workplace safety rules beyond the federal baseline. |
| Workers’ compensation is optional | Texas is the only state where private employers can opt out of workers’ comp. This creates unique liability considerations during weather events that expose employees to hazardous conditions. |
| No state paid sick leave law | There’s no statewide mandate for paid sick leave (some cities have attempted local ordinances, but enforcement has been challenged). This gives employers a clean slate for weather closure pay policies. |
| At-will employment without restriction | Texas has no predictive scheduling law, no premium pay for schedule changes, and broad at-will employment protections. You can modify schedules for weather without additional pay obligations. |
Do You Have to Pay Employees During a Weather Closure in Texas?
Without state reporting-time pay or paid leave mandates, Texas weather closure pay rules default to the federal FLSA:
Texas Pay Rules for Hourly Employees During Weather Closures
| Scenario | What you owe |
|---|---|
| Business closes, team member doesn’t report | Nothing |
| Business closes, team member already reported | Hours actually worked only |
| Business stays open, team member can’t commute | Nothing |
| Team member works a partial shift due to early closure | Hours actually worked only |
No minimum hours. If a team member drives to work, clocks in for 20 minutes, and you send everyone home because of a tornado warning, you owe 20 minutes of pay. That’s it under Texas and federal law.
Do You Have to Pay Salaried Employees During a Weather Closure in Texas?
The FLSA salary basis test still applies:
| Scenario | Pay rule |
|---|---|
| Partial-week closure | If the exempt employee worked any part of the week, full weekly salary is owed. You cannot dock pay for the closure days. |
| Full-week closure | If the exempt employee performed absolutely no work during an entire workweek — no emails, no calls, no schedule reviews — you can withhold salary for that week. |
| Employer-directed PTO | You can require exempt employees to use PTO during weather closures, and you can deduct from their PTO balance without affecting the salary basis exemption, as long as they still receive their full salary for the week. |
Texas Extreme Heat and Outdoor Workers: OSHA Rules Employers Must Follow
In much of Texas, extreme heat is the most frequent and dangerous weather disruption for shift-based businesses. Outdoor crews in construction, landscaping, roofing, oil and gas, and agriculture face heat conditions that can be fatal.
How to Protect Employees from Heat Illness in Texas
Federal OSHA’s General Duty Clause requires Texas employers to address recognized heat hazards, and OSHA has launched a National Emphasis Program for heat inspections. OSHA can issue serious violations of up to $16,550 per violation and willful violations up to $165,514 (2025 amounts, adjusted annually for inflation).
Use the heat index — not just the air temperature — to determine your response level. The following table maps OSHA’s heat index action levels to specific employer obligations:
| Heat index | Risk level | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Under 91°F | Lower | Basic water and shade available |
| 91°F—103°F | Moderate | Active monitoring, mandatory water breaks every 20 minutes, acclimatization protocols for new workers |
| 103°F—115°F | High | Mandatory rest breaks in shade/AC every 15—20 minutes, buddy system, reduce physical intensity |
| Above 115°F | Very high to extreme | Stop non-essential outdoor work, mandatory cool-down every 15 minutes, consider rescheduling to cooler hours |
Build these protocols into your weather policy:
| Measure | Details |
|---|---|
| Water | At least one quart per worker per hour, readily accessible. Not a water cooler in the break room — water where they’re working. |
| Rest breaks | Mandatory cool-down breaks when temperatures exceed 90°F. At 100°F+, increase frequency to every 30–45 minutes for outdoor work. |
| Shade or cooling | Provide shade structures, air-conditioned vehicles, or indoor cooling areas within walking distance. |
| Acclimatization | New employees and those returning from a week or more off need a gradual ramp-up to full outdoor work intensity over 7–14 days. |
| Training | Every team member and supervisor should recognize heat illness symptoms (cramps, confusion, fainting, hot/dry skin) and know the emergency response procedure. |
| Modified schedules | Start outdoor shifts earlier — a 5 AM to 1 PM schedule avoids the worst afternoon heat. Use your scheduling system to shift outdoor work to cooler hours. |
Texas Employer Liability for Heat Injuries Without Workers’ Compensation
Because Texas allows employers to opt out of workers’ compensation, heat-related injuries create heightened legal risk for nonsubscribers. Without workers’ comp coverage, an injured employee can file a personal injury lawsuit, and the employer loses the defense of contributory negligence, assumption of risk, and fellow-servant rule. If you have outdoor workers and no workers’ comp, a heat illness incident could result in uncapped damages.
Texas Hurricane Preparedness for Employers: Before, During, and After the Storm
The Texas Gulf Coast — from Brownsville to Beaumont — faces hurricane threats every year. For coastal employers, hurricane preparedness isn’t optional; it’s the core of your weather policy.
How to Prepare Your Business Before a Hurricane Hits Texas
| Action | Details |
|---|---|
| Track forecasts starting 5 days out | The National Hurricane Center provides track projections that narrow as the storm approaches. |
| Establish decision triggers | A hurricane watch (48 hours out) should trigger preparation. A hurricane warning (36 hours out) should trigger closure decisions for coastal locations. |
| Communicate early | Don’t wait for a mandatory evacuation order. Team members need time to secure their homes and families. |
| Pre-position supplies | If your business will reopen quickly after the storm — plywood, generators, water, first aid supplies. |
Employer Obligations During a Hurricane in Texas
| Obligation | Details |
|---|---|
| Mandatory evacuation orders override everything | If local authorities order evacuation, your business is closed. Requiring team members to stay is a violation of the General Duty Clause and potentially criminal. |
| Maintain communication | Cell towers and power may go down. Have a plan B for reaching team members — text messages use less bandwidth than calls and are more likely to go through on congested networks. |
| Don’t expect immediate return | Flooding can last days or weeks after the storm passes. Roads, bridges, and infrastructure may be impassable. |
How to Reopen Your Business After a Hurricane in Texas
| Action | Details |
|---|---|
| Assess before reopening | Verify structural safety, electrical systems, water contamination risks, and road access before calling anyone back. |
| Expect staggered returns | Team members may be dealing with home damage, displaced family members, or neighborhoods without power. Flexible scheduling during the recovery period is critical for retention. |
| Track hours carefully | Clean-up shifts, overtime for essential workers, and staggered reopening schedules create payroll complexity. Document everything. |
How to Handle a Winter Storm in Texas: Lessons from Winter Storm Uri
Texas infrastructure is not built for extreme cold. Winter Storm Uri in February 2021 proved that when temperatures stay below freezing for extended periods, the consequences cascade:
- Power grid failures that lasted days, leaving businesses and homes without electricity or heat
- Burst pipes that damaged buildings and shut down water systems
- Road conditions that made commuting impossible for a week
- Supply chain disruptions that affected operations long after the weather cleared
What Did Winter Storm Uri Teach Texas Employers?
| Lesson | Details |
|---|---|
| Multi-day closures need a pay plan | A one-day snow closure is simple. A 5–7 day infrastructure failure requires clear rules about whether employees are paid, whether PTO is required, and how exempt employee salary basis is handled across a full workweek with no work. |
| Communication plans need redundancy | If power and cell service are down, your team can’t check their scheduling app. Have a fallback — a phone tree, a designated check-in point, or a text-based system that works on low-bandwidth networks. |
| Reopening is gradual | Even after roads clear, some team members may not have heat, water, or childcare. Build in flexibility for staggered return. |
Texas Inclement Weather Policy Checklist for Employers
- Decision triggers defined for each weather type: heat threshold, hurricane watch/warning, winter storm advisory
- Heat safety plan: water, rest, shade, acclimatization, training
- Hurricane preparation timeline: 5-day, 48-hour, 36-hour, and evacuation triggers
- Multi-day closure plan for extended events (Winter Storm Uri scenario)
- Workers’ compensation status reviewed — nonsubscribers should assess heat and storm liability exposure
- Time tracking configured with weather-related absence codes
- Post-storm reopening safety assessment procedure documented
Weather closure rules vary by state. See our guides for California, Florida, Illinois, and New York, or read the complete guide to inclement weather policies.
More Texas employer guides: Hiring as a TX sole proprietor | Closing a business in Texas
Frequently Asked Questions
How did Winter Storm Uri affect Texas employer obligations?
Winter Storm Uri didn’t change Texas labor law, but it exposed gaps in virtually every employer’s weather policy. The key lessons: policies must cover multi-day infrastructure failures, not just single-day closures; communication plans need to work without electricity or cell service; pay rules for exempt employees must address full-week shutdowns; and reopening procedures need to account for employees whose homes are damaged or without utilities. Many Texas employers revised their policies after Uri to include these scenarios.
Is Workers’ Comp Required in Texas? What Happens If You Don’t Have It
Texas is the only state where workers’ compensation is truly optional for most private employers. Employers who opt out (called nonsubscribers) lose several common-law defenses if an employee is injured on the job. During weather events — heat illness, injuries during a storm, or accidents during hazardous commutes at the employer’s direction — nonsubscribers face significant exposure. If you have outdoor workers or require reporting during weather events, review your workers’ comp status with an insurance advisor.
How Should Multi-Location Texas Employers Handle Different Weather Threats?
Texas spans multiple climate zones — the Gulf Coast faces hurricanes, the Panhandle gets ice storms, and Central and West Texas deal with extreme heat and tornadoes. A single statewide weather policy won’t work. Build a framework with consistent pay and communication rules, but define location-specific triggers. Your Houston locations need hurricane protocols. Your Dallas locations need ice storm plans. Your outdoor crews statewide need heat safety programs. Use your scheduling platform to manage location-specific closures without disrupting unaffected sites.
