Business Briefs (Week of Oct. 13)

Looking for business briefs? This week's roundup (for the week ending October 13) from The Journal Record.

Help Wanted: State retailers tread toward holidays
Amazon last month announced plans to hire 250,000 full- and part-time workers for the holiday season, and Target said it would add 100,000 seasonal workers. Both retailers began offering holiday deals this month. Oklahoma retailers looking to increase staffing heading into the holidays may have a tough time due to the state’s high rate of employment and hiring challenges.  
 
Mandates magnify Oklahoma nursing home staffing shortage
More than 5,800 Oklahomans could be displaced if nursing homes are forced to meet new unfunded federal staffing requirements, a new analysis shows. In the first quarter of 2023, more than 99% of Oklahoma facilities didn’t meet the proposed requirement to have a registered nurse on staff 24/7 and 56% didn’t meet the proposed new nurse aide mandate, according to the analysis by professional services firm CLA (CliftonLarsenAllen). Enacting the federal staffing mandate recently announced by the Biden administration would cost Oklahoma nursing homes approximately $76 million per year to hire an estimated additional 538 nurse aides and 715 RNs.
 
Legislators study tax penalties hurting small businesses
State senators met with the Oklahoma Tax Commission this month for an interim study to look at Tax Commission fees. The study, led by state Sen. Darcy Jech, R-Kingfisher, highlighted issues with usage of agricultural sales tax exemptions and high interest rates that make it difficult for taxpayers to pay penalties, resulting in business closures.
 
Driverless trucks moving freight on Houston-OKC route
International logistics company Maersk has started shipping freight via driverless trucks between Houston and Oklahoma City. The trucks, currently operating with human drivers as monitors in cabs, have been running 24 hours per day, four days per week. The autonomous semi-trucks move between a Houston facility, where consumer products are loaded onto 53-foot trailers, to a distribution center in Oklahoma City. The operations mark an expansion of a collaboration between Maersk and Kodiak Robotics, a 5-year-old company based in Mountain View, California, that develops autonomous technology specifically for long-haul truck operations.
 
Third Senior Health and Wellness Center to open in OKC
Oklahoma City’s third Senior Health and Wellness Center will open late this year following delays caused by construction and management issues. The Oklahoma City Council approved a lease management agreement with Community Health Recreation & Wellness to operate the facility at NE 36th Street and Lincoln Boulevard. CEO Isabella Lawson said the ribbon-cutting ceremony is set for Dec. 7 and staff hiring will begin soon.
 
Workers' comp case could set new precedent
An Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals opinion could set a precedent that drastically alters the scope of what’s considered continuing medical maintenance through workers’ compensation. In Prewitt v. QuikTrip Corporation, the claimant appealed an order of the Workers’ Compensation Court of Existing Claims that denied his request for a spinal cord stimulator. The Court of Civil Appeals reversed the decision, which now could be taken up by the Oklahoma Supreme Court.
 
NFIB reports increasing pessimism among small businesses
Main Street needs help, as inflation and workforce woes have taken increasing tolls recently on small businesses in Oklahoma and across the country, according to the National Federation of Independent Businesses. The NFIB, which frequently surveys small business owners and managers to gauge trends that influence its Small Business Optimism Index, reported that the index continued a downward trend in September. NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg said in a news release that inflation, combined with other pressures, cut into bottom lines and overall business expectations.
 
TU keeps sharp focus on cybersecurity
The University of Tulsa stepped into the world of cybersecurity research and education in the mid-1990s and by 2000 was one of the first 14 institutions named as a Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education by the National Security Agency. What started as coursework in the computer science department more than two decades ago grew – along with the prevalence of cybercrime – into the School of Cyber Studies, launched in 2021, and the new Oklahoma Cyber Innovation Institute announced in August.
 
Baker Hughes repurposes oil well for geothermal energy research
An energy company with operations in more than 120 countries has refurbished an oil and gas test well in Oklahoma City to advance its efforts in developing geothermal technology. Baker Hughes, an energy technology company, is leading a geothermal energy partnership that aims to transform dry non-productive geothermal wells and non-productive oil and gas wells into geothermal wells capable of generating renewable electrical power.
 
Acorn invests in EirTrade Aviation Ireland
EirTrade Aviation Ireland, an aviation technical asset services and trading company with operations in Ireland and the United States, has entered into partnership with and received an investment from Oklahoma City-based Acorn Growth Cos. The relationship should enhance EirTrade’s financial capabilities and make it an even stronger partner to its customers, suppliers and consignors in the aviation market, the companies said in a joint release. 
 
Legislative committee examines Oklahoma's livable wages threshold
The state Senate Business and Commerce Committee conducted a study to better understand what qualifies as a quality job and find ways to improve economic opportunities across the state. The study, led by state Sen. Julia Kirt, D-Oklahoma City, reviewed Oklahoma’s Quality Jobs Program and how incentives for job creation could better serve the economy.
 
Integris Health to open first of numerous AllSet Urgent Care clinics
Integris Health has announced that it’s on track to open the first of numerous planned AllSet Urgent Care clinics in the Oklahoma City metro area later this month. Integris, which identifies as the largest Oklahoma-owned health care system, said the first of 17 new AllSet clinics will open at 3075 Classen Blvd., Suite 226, in Norman. Additional clinic sites will be opened by the summer of next year, and three existing Integris Health Urgent Care clinics in the metro also will be converted to the new model.
 
Cybercrime threatens small businesses, and it’s getting worse
The numbers are dire and frightening. Of all the cyberattacks committed annually, small businesses account for 43%, and 46% are on small businesses with 1,000 or fewer employees. As small businesses start using more advanced technologies and rely more on the cloud, that same technology can make them more vulnerable to attacks. In fact, small and medium-sized businesses on average lose approximately $25,000 annually to cybercrime. In 2020 alone, small businesses were the target of more than 700,000 attacks, which caused a total of $2.8 billion in damages, according to an Accenture Cybercrime study released recently.
 
Study of homeownership shows Oklahoma losing ground
Historic home price inflation and rising mortgage interest rates have coupled to put homeownership outside the reach of a rising number of Americans, including in Oklahoma. In fact, a recent study of factors influencing homeownership revealed that Oklahomans may have lost more ground than would-be buyers in most other states. The study, by RubyHome Luxury Real Estate, examined homeownership rates across the nation in the years 2000 through 2022. While ownership rates declined nationwide over that time, the decline in Oklahoma has significantly exceeded the national average. RubyHome concluded that the Sooner State has witnessed the eighth-largest decline in homeownership since 2000.