Latest California Headlines
All the headlines from our California Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Experts Warn of ‘Significant Risk’ from California Dam
Mar 24 2017 // California is not just fighting nature as it attempts to repair the nation’s tallest dam, badly damaged last month by surging storm waters. It’s also racing the clock. Safety experts say there is no time for...
California Congressmen Introduce Earthquake Mitigation Tax Incentives
Mar 22 2017 // A pair of Congressmen from California today introduced the Earthquake Mitigation Incentive and Tax Parity Act of 2017 to exclude incentives for residential seismic retrofits from federal taxation. The act was introduced by...
California Workers’ Comp Report Looks at Spinal Fusion Claims
Mar 22 2017 // A study on the use of spinal fusion surgeries in California workers’ compensation shows that in 60 percent of spinal fusion claims the initial report of injury was for a sprain or strain, a majority of the fusions...
Bickmore in California Names Sharma Finance Manager
Mar 22 2017 // Sacramento, Calif.-based Bickmore has named Ritesh Sharma a manager in its finance and accounting services department. Sharma will act as the finance manager for three joint power authorities. He will direct accounting and...
California City Seeks to Improve Safety by Scanning License Plates
Mar 22 2017 // A California city plans to scan the license plates of all incoming cars by placing stationary cameras at key intersections in a bid to boost public safety. The seaside city of Carlsbad will spend $1 million to add cameras...
Travel Businesses in California’s Big Sur Community Reeling After Bridge Closure
Mar 22 2017 // Almost all the hotels, restaurants and state parks cut off when a bridge on the Central California coast crumbled last month remain closed, but Kurt Mayer chose to keep his deli and taproom open — even though it’s...
Aon Gains Upper Hand in Non-Compete and Poaching Lawsuit vs. Alliant
Mar 22 2017 // A legal battle between two insurance brokerages over whether a former employee violated non-compete agreements and poached numerous employees is not over yet but the brokerage bringing the charges has scored key early...
California May Exit Federal Flood Program, According to Reports
Mar 21 2017 // After learning a lesson from what could have been the largest dam disaster U.S. history, California officials are reported to be considering withdrawing from the National Flood Insurance Program. Capital Public Radio is...
California Workers Comp Medical Review Volume Hit a Record in 2016
Mar 21 2017 // The California workers’ compensation independent medical review process used to resolve medical disputes found that in 2016 IMR physicians once again upheld about 90 percent of utilization review physician’s...
Suit Filed in California Says Kona Co. Dupes Those Seeking Hawaii-Made Beer
Mar 20 2017 // A class-action lawsuit says Kona Brewing Co. leads customers to believe they are buying made-in-Hawaii beer. The lawsuit filed in California is against Craft Brew Alliance, which advertises, markets, distributes and sells...
People – West
Mar 20 2017 // Reno, Nev.-based LP Insurance Services Inc. has added Steve Peitz, Carlos Ruiz and Loren Pierce as risk management consultants. Peitz was previously a safety specialist at Panasonic Energy North America and an assistant...
CEOs of California Sewing Firms Sentenced for Workers’ Comp Fraud
Mar 17 2017 // Sisters who are CEOs of sewing companies that are subcontracted by True Religion jeans have been sentenced for conspiring with their accountant to hide tens of millions in payroll to avoid paying for workers’...
California Judge Approves $27M Driver Settlement in Lyft Lawsuit
Mar 17 2017 // A U.S. judge has given final approval to a settlement agreement in a class-action lawsuit against Lyft Inc., ending a legal case that challenged the independent contractor status of the ride-hailing service’s...
California Lawmakers Grapple with Fatal Oakland Warehouse Fire
Mar 16 2017 // California state lawmakers said they are grappling with a growing public safety problem in cities where financially struggling artists are illegally converting warehouses into housing and entertainment venues. The Senate...
Owner of Hotel Cleaning Firm in California Pleads Guilty to Workers’ Comp Fraud
Mar 15 2017 // Hyok Kwon, owner of Good Neighbor Services, a janitorial company that provided services to some of San Diego’s most exclusive hotels and resorts, has pleaded yesterday to seven felonies, including premium and...
Panel Hands Small Victory to California Utilities in Nuke Plant Suit
Mar 15 2017 // An arbitration panel has awarded California utilities $125 million in a lawsuit claiming that Mitsubishi Heavy Industries supplied faulty steam generators that helped lead to the closure of the San Onofre nuclear...
Hub Names Ryan Employee Benefits Market Leader in Northern California
Mar 14 2017 // Hub California has named John Martin Ryan employee benefits market leader for Northern California. Ryan is responsible for managing and overseeing Northern California employee benefit producers, recruiting employee...
Report: High Volume, Low Costs For Comp Claims in Northernmost California
Mar 13 2017 // California’s northern most counties accounted for 1.1 percent of the state’s workforce but 3.3 percent of the job injury claims, according to a report from the California Workers’ Compensation...
Uber Settlement to Give California Drivers $1 Each Does Not Win Over Judge
Mar 13 2017 // Uber Technologies Inc. failed to persuade a judge to approve a settlement offering 1.6 million California drivers an average of $1.08 each to dispense with alleged labor-code violations that their lawyer earlier claimed...
Uber Settlement with Drivers Ignites Battle Among Rival Lawyers
Mar 10 2017 // Another Uber Technologies Inc. lawsuit settlement is under siege, with warring lawyers for drivers again trying to tear the deal apart. The company wants a Los Angeles judge to bless a proposal to pay 1.6 million...
