Latest California Headlines
All the headlines from our California Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Uber Drivers’ Class Action Raises Worker Classification, Arbitration, Liability Issues
Nov 24 2015 // Fifty seven and a half cents for every mile logged. That’s the latest demand from Uber Technologies Inc. drivers in California suing to be treated like employees. Whether the drivers can pursue pay for mileage on...
Google Compare for Mortgages Launched in California, Other States to Follow
Nov 23 2015 // Google has officially launched the newest addition to its suite of Google Compare products: mortgages. Google Compare for Mortgages was announced earlier this year, and is now being made available in California with...
Three California Men File Suits After E-Cigarette Batteries Explode
Nov 23 2015 // Three California men have filed lawsuits against manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers of electronic cigarettes, claiming the products’ batteries exploded, causing severe injuries. The Los Angeles Daily News...
California Worker Injury Rate Lowest in 13 Years
Nov 20 2015 // The California Department of Industrial Relations has posted the state’s 2014 occupational injury and illness data, which offers a look at employer-reported injuries involving days away from work. The data shows that...
Court Denies Uber’s Appeal of Class Action Filed by Aspiring Employees
Nov 20 2015 // A U.S. appeals court this week denied ride service Uber’s request to immediately appeal an order approving class certification in a lawsuit filed by drivers who wish to be deemed employees. The ruling, from the 9th...
States Graded ‘A’ to ‘F’ for Extreme Weather Preparedness
Nov 20 2015 // Many states across the country are unprepared to face the risks posed extreme heat, drought, wildfires, inland flooding, coastal flooding and other extreme weather events, according to a new report card. Only a small...
California School Security Officer Arrested for Workers’ Comp Fraud
Nov 19 2015 // Valentino H. Douglas, 45, of Rialto, Calif., was arrested and booked into the West Valley Detention Center on multiple counts of felony insurance fraud after receiving more than $112,000 in workers’ compensation...
Heffernan Executive Named California Trucking Association Chair
Nov 19 2015 // Tanner Fornesi, assistant vice president at Heffernan Insurance Brokers, has been named vice chairman for the Sacramento chapter of the California Trucking Association. Fornesi’s new duties will include attending...
Regulators Ding California Nuke Plant Operator over Seismic Check
Nov 18 2015 // Federal regulators have hit the owner of California’s last operating nuclear power plant with a low-level violation for bungling an earthquake-related safety evaluation when it was swapping out important...
Registration of California Tour Bus That Crashed Questioned
Nov 18 2015 // California regulators are investigating whether a double-decker tour bus that crashed and injured 20 in San Francisco was properly registered with state authorities. The California Public Utilities Commission said this...
California DMV’s Pedestrian Pace on Self-Driving Car Rules Makes Google Antsy
Nov 17 2015 // Hustling to bring cars that drive themselves to a road near you, Google finds itself somewhere that has frustrated many before: Waiting on the California Department of Motor Vehicles. The tech titan wants the freedom to...
Report: Workers’ Comp Reform Saving California’s System $770M Annually
Nov 17 2015 // The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau released this year’s evaluation of California’s workers’ comp reform law. The WCIRB Cost Monitoring Report — 2015 Retrospective Evaluation is part...
El Nin᷈o Talk Growing Louder Amid Southern California Storms
Nov 16 2015 // A whopper of a winter appears to be brewing for the Western U.S. and more conversations are turning to preparations for what could be one of the strongest El Nin᷈os on record. Strong rains throughout much of California...
Confie Acquires California Insurance Specialists
Nov 16 2015 // Confie has acquired California Insurance Specialists, Confie announced on Monday. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Wayne Pratt, who joined CIS in 1976, and Randy Parker, who joined in 1993, will continue as president...
WCIRB: Los Angeles Workers’ Comp Claims Outlier in California
Nov 16 2015 // California’s Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau released a study in November showing significant differences in the costs of claims among the state’s regions – particularly Los...
Wildfires, and Now El Niño, May Boost Californians’ Appetites for Surplus Lines
Nov 16 2015 // There’s little question that the drought and the recent wildfire season that it unleashed pushed more California homeowners into the surplus lines market. Now with what appears to be a strong El Niño on the horizon...
Survey: Insurers Spent $1.52B with Diverse California Suppliers Last Year
Nov 16 2015 // Diverse California businesses supplied $1.52 billion in goods and services to insurance companies last year, according to a survey by the California Department of Insurance. The 2014 tally was a $587 million increase since...
Couple Sues Six Flags in Central California for Retaliation
Nov 16 2015 // Two former employees have sued Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Central California, saying they were fired as retaliation for raising animal welfare concerns. Michael and Holley Muraco have filed a wrongful termination...
Mercury in California Says Net Premiums Rose, Net Income Fell in 3Q
Nov 16 2015 // Mercury General Corp. at the start of November reported net written premiums rose 8 percent for the third quarter from a year ago. The board of directors for the Los Angeles, Calif.-based carrier also declared a quarterly...
Uber Driver Sues Taco Bell Brand Manager Videoed in California Slapping Assault
Nov 16 2015 // An Uber driver is suing a California man accused of slapping and hitting the driver in an attack that was recorded on video. Edward Caban filed a lawsuit in early November in Orange County against 32-year-old Benjamin...
