Latest California Headlines

All the headlines from our California Topic Page, ordered by recency.

California Workers’ Comp Committee OKs 2021 Pure Premium Filing

Aug 12 2020 // The governing committee of the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California voted on Wednesday to authorize the WCIRB to submit a Jan. 1, 2021 advisory pure premium rate filing to the California...

Uber Likely to Temporarily Stop California Operations Due to New Driver Ruling

Aug 12 2020 // Uber Technologies Inc. would be forced to shut down its ride-hailing operations in California if a court ruling that blocks it from classifying its drivers as independent contractors goes into effect, the company said in a...

California Quake Alerts Will Come Standard on Android Phones

Aug 12 2020 // California’s earthquake early warnings will be a standard feature on all Android phones, bypassing the need for users to download the state’s MyShake app in order to receive alerts, the Governor’s Office...

Google Turns Android Phones Into Earthquake Sensors

Aug 12 2020 // Alphabet Inc’s Google’s Android phones on Tuesday started detecting earthquakes around the world to provide data that could eventually give billions of users precious seconds of warning of a tremor nearby, with...

California Bill Addressing Property Rates in Wildfire-Prone Areas Awaits Hearing

Aug 11 2020 // The stage has been set for a major battle over a California bill due to be heard in the next few weeks in a key committee that opponents say is a direct attack on insurance consumer protections and proponents say is the...

California Construction Worker Arraigned for Workers’ Comp Fraud

Aug 11 2020 // Meliton Hernandez Martinez Jr., 23, was arraigned today at the Merced County Superior Court in California on multiple felony counts of insurance fraud and a misdemeanor count of filing a false police report, after...

COVID-19 a Growing Share of Shrinking Work Comp Claims in 2 States

Aug 11 2020 // COVID-19 has become a large chunk of a dwindling number of workers’ compensation claims in Florida and California, limited data shows. The number of COVID-19 workers’ compensation claims reported in California...

California Coronavirus Cases Hit 554K

Aug 11 2020 // The number of COVID-19 cases in California stood at 554,160 cases Sunday, according to state health department officials. The California Department of Public Health said in a release that there have been 8,826,119 tests...

California Judge Blocks Uber, Lyft From Classifying Drivers as Contractors

Aug 10 2020 // A California judge on Monday granted the state’s request for a preliminary injunction blocking Uber Technologies Inc. and Lyft Inc. from classifying their drivers as independent contractors rather than employees. The...

Judge Orders PG&E in California to Beef up Safety

Aug 10 2020 // A federal judge has ordered Pacific Gas and Electric to better inspect high-voltage power lines, hire more tree-trimming supervisors and upgrade records regarding the age of electrical equipment as part of efforts to...

Clint Eastwood Files Suit in California Against CBD Sellers Over Use of His Name

Aug 10 2020 // Clint Eastwood sued several companies that sell CBD supplements in late July, alleging that they are falsely using his name and image to push products he would never agree to endorse. Two lawsuits filed in federal court in...

Northern California Woman Pleads Guilty to Workers’ Comp Fraud and ID Theft

Aug 10 2020 // Marlene Cavalcanti, 40, has pleaded guilty to two felony counts of insurance fraud and identity theft after falsifying documents to receive an additional $10,590 on her workers’ compensation claim. Cavalcanti,...

California Department of Insurance Fraud Suit Results in $24M in Payments from AbbVie

Aug 7 2020 // California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara this week announced a settlement agreement with AbbVie Inc. to resolve a lawsuit alleging violations of the California Insurance Frauds Prevention Act involving the marketing...

Lockton Pacific Series Names Ricks Vice President in California

Aug 7 2020 // Lockton Pacific Series has named Thomas Ricks vice president of data analytics. Ricks is based in Lockton’s San Francisco, Calif. office. Ricks was previously a vice president with Aon. He started his career with...

Judge May Not Grant Injunction Forcing Uber, Lyft to Classify Drivers as Employees

Aug 7 2020 // A California judge signaled on Thursday he might be leaning against a request for a preliminary injunction forcing Uber Technologies Inc and Lyft Inc. to classify drivers as employees rather than contractors. In a hearing...

Health Official: California COVID-19 Cases Underreported

Aug 6 2020 // Figures showing California has slowed the rate of coronavirus infections may be in doubt because a technical problem has delayed reporting of test results, the state’s top health official said. For days, California...

United Valley Insurance Services Adds Kulchin Ross in California

Aug 6 2020 // United Valley Insurance Services Inc. has added as new member in Kulchin Ross Insurance Services LLC Tarzana, Calif. Kulchin Ross Insurance Services was founded in 2011 when owners Bill Kulchin and Derek Ross joined forces...

California Labor Commissioner Suing Uber, Lyft for ‘Systemic Wage Theft’

Aug 5 2020 // The California Labor Commissioner’s Office has filed separate lawsuits against transportation companies Uber and Lyft for committing wage theft by misclassifying employees as independent contractors. Uber and Lyft...

California Governor Cautiously Upbeat About Coronavirus Numbers

Aug 4 2020 // California appears to be getting a grip on a resurgence of the coronavirus, Gov. Gavin Newsom said this week, though he warned the state is a long way from reopening some of the businesses it shuttered for a second time...

Mercury General in California Reports 2Q Earnings of $228M

Aug 4 2020 // Mercury General Corp. on Monday reported second-quarter earnings of $228.2 million. The Los Angeles-based company said it had net income of $4.12 per share. Earnings, adjusted for investment gains, were $1.86 per...