Latest California Headlines
All the headlines from our California Topic Page, ordered by recency.
California Phlebotomy Lab and Owners to Pay $135K Over FCA Claims
Oct 28 2024 // A mobile phlebotomy lab and its owners have agreed to pay at least $135,000 to resolve False Claims Act allegations that they submitted false claims for services and associated travel mileage and paid kickbacks to a...
California Vocational School Owner Charged With Fraud in Workers’ Comp Scheme
Oct 25 2024 // The owner of a Fresno, California-based for-profit vocational school was charged with engaging in fraudulent billing practices related to workers’ compensation. Paul Steve Ramirez, 59, was charged with 11 felony...
Report Shows Opioid Use in California Workers’ Comp Continues to Go Down
Oct 24 2024 // A California Workers’ Compensation Institute analysis opioid prescription data between 2017 and 2023 from the California Department of Justice’s Controlled Substance Utilization Review and Evaluation System...
Walmart to Pay $7.5M to Resolve California Hazardous Waste Charges
Oct 23 2024 // Walmart will pay $7.5 million to resolve charges that the largest U.S. retailer illegally disposed of hazardous and medical waste from its facilities into California municipal landfills. The settlement was announced on...
California Department of Workers’ Comp Announces Temporary Total Disability Rates for 2025
Oct 22 2024 // California’s 2025 minimum and maximum temporary total disability rates will increase on Jan. 1, 2025, the Division of Workers’ Compensation announced. The minimum TTD rate will increase from $242.86 to $252.03,...
California’s Cost of Treating Injured Workers 10% Below Other States in Study
Oct 21 2024 // Workers’ compensation medical payments per claim in California were 10% below the median state of a 17-state study sample for claims with experience through March 2023, a study from the Workers Compensation Research...
Long COVID Claims Still Impact California’s Workers Comp System, Report Shows
Oct 21 2024 // The impact and surge of long-term COVID on the California workers’ compensation system since 2020 has been prevalent, including long-term impacts on disability and long-term patterns of medical cost and treatment on...
WCIRB Summarizes 2024 California Workers’ Comp Legislation
Oct 21 2024 // The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau is giving its take on bills passed and passed on by California Legislature this year. The Legislature recessed for the year and Gov. Gavin Newsom had until Sept. 30...
Man Banned From California’s Workers’ Comp System Charged for Billing Nearly $100M
Oct 17 2024 // A man banned for life from the California workers’ compensation system after being twice convicted of fraud was charged with billing nearly $100 million as part of an extensive workers’ comp fraud scheme. David...
People Moves: HUB International Names Forchelli EVP for Hub California
Oct 17 2024 // Andrew Forchelli Hub International Limited appointed Andrew Forchelli as executive vice president of HUB California effective January 1, 2025. He will cover existing operations in Northern and Southern California while...
California City Part of Community-Based Flood Insurance Initiative
Oct 17 2024 // The City of Isleton will take part in a community-based flood insurance initiative for as part of a two-year $200,000 grant to provide payouts to residents if floodwaters reach a pre-determined depth. The pilot project is...
Average Weekly Wage Increase Bumps California Workers’ Comp Benefits for 2025
Oct 16 2024 // California’s State Average Weekly Wage rose nearly 3.8% in the year ending March 31, resulting in an increase in California workers’ compensation temporary total disability and permanent total disability rates...
Should California’s Minimum Wage Be $18? Voters Will Soon Decide
Oct 15 2024 // Voters will decide in November whether California should raise its hourly minimum wage to $18 by 2026 and pay workers what would be the highest statewide minimum wage in the country. That would be on par with Hawaii, where...
People Moves: Galla Joins Alliant as EVP, Alliant M&A; EPIC Expands Leadership in Northern California
Oct 15 2024 // Galla Joins Alliant Insurance Services as Executive Vice President, Alliant M&A Pete Galla Pete Galla joined Alliant Insurance Services as executive vice president and senior director, Alliant Specialty, within the...
Anaheim Marriott Cited $12.5M for Violating California Worker Recall Law
Oct 11 2024 // A state investigation found that Anaheim Marriott hotel violated California’s worker recall law, resulting in estimated damages for the violations of $12.5 million. The damages will go to 28 workers who were laid off...
Former California Agent Pleads Guilty to 90 Counts of Insurance Fraud
Oct 11 2024 // A former insurance broker has pleaded guilty to a number of charges including insurance fraud for collecting premiums without placing coverage. Karen Marie Dondanville, 56, a former broker from Mission Viejo, pleaded...
5 Dead After Small Plane Crashes on Island off Southern California Coast
Oct 10 2024 // Five people were killed when a small plane crashed during takeoff from Santa Catalina Island off the Southern California coast, authorities said. The twin-engine Beechcraft 95 crashed shortly after 8 p.m. Tuesday, just...
Amwins and Floodbase Launch Flood Insurance Program for California Municipalities
Oct 10 2024 // Amwins and Floodbase have launched a municipal flood insurance program designed to insure California municipalities against previously uncovered losses due to atmospheric river flooding. The flood program closes the...
California Household Goods Seller to Pay EPA $250K for Unregistered Disinfectants
Oct 9 2024 // The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency got a settlement from Gardena, California-based U.S. Jaclean Inc. over claims of illegal distribution or sale of unregistered and misbranded disinfectants and other pesticide...
WCIRB: California Workers’ Comp Written Premium in 2023 Was up Slightly
Oct 9 2024 // California workers’ compensation written premium in 2023 was slightly above 2022, while written premium for the first six months of 2024 is 2% lower than the first six months of 2023, a new report shows. The...
