Latest California Headlines
All the headlines from our California Topic Page, ordered by recency.
How Gig Economy Is Using Private Arbitration to Win on Labor Classification
Jun 6 2016 // Sharing economy workers’ best shot at suing to rewrite the rules of their employment may soon pass them by. As judges last Thursday considered settlements that will leave Uber Technologies Inc. and Lyft Inc. drivers...
California Could Have Early Alert Quake System by 2018
Jun 6 2016 // California Gov. Jerry Brown will seek state funds to help establish a system that issues alerts that an earthquake is occurring — with an eye on rolling out a limited system by 2018. Brown will ask the Legislature to...
EPIC Names Leventhal Vice President in Employee Benefits in California
Jun 3 2016 // EPIC Insurance Brokers & Consultants has named Eric Leventhal a vice president in its employee benefits consulting practice. Leventhal will be based in San Francisco and report to John Connell, president of employee...
Judge Questions Lyft’s Revised Pay Deal with California Drivers
Jun 3 2016 // Lyft Inc. may have more work to do to win court approval of a settlement with 163,000 California drivers who sued to be treated as employees. U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria in San Francisco on Thursday indicated...
Critics of Uber’s $100M Driver Settlement Have Day in Court
Jun 3 2016 // Uber Technologies Inc. may have to return to the bargaining table to show just how badly it wants to avoid a jury trial with drivers demanding to be treated as employees. The world’s largest rideshare company faced...
Risk Strategies Acquires OakBridge Advisors in California
Jun 2 2016 // Risk Strategies Co. has acquired employee benefits firm OakBridge Advisors in Newport Beach, Calif. Founders Edward Kirkwood and Lawrence Hartley their staff will continue serving their current client base. They will work...
Honda Self-Driving Cars on Display at New Testing Facility in California
Jun 2 2016 // Honda Motor Co gave a sneak preview of its self-driving prototypes on Wednesday, saying it was already on its way to offering semi-autonomous safety functions to the mass market. The Japanese automaker has been less vocal...
AIG to Appeal Ruling Letting PIMCO Suit Over Financial Crisis Investments Proceed
Jun 2 2016 // American International Group Inc. failed to persuade a judge to throw out a lawsuit by Pacific Investment Management Co. over investments that were wiped out because of the insurer’s exposure to credit-default swaps...
California Agent Pleads Guilty to Selling Bogus Bonds and Premium Theft
Jun 1 2016 // John Antonio Ruiz, 49, of Riverside, Calif., pleaded guilty to 11 felony counts of grand theft after selling $334,972 in bogus surety bonds and stealing the client’s premium. His theft left a major retailer exposed...
California Senate OKs Bill to Avert License Suspensions for Minor Offenses
May 31 2016 // The California Senate on Tuesday passed legislation by state Sen. Bob Hertzberg, D-Van Nuys, that stops the automatic suspension of driver’s licenses for people who fail to appear in court on minor traffic offenses...
School Bus Firm Agrees to Settle California Safety Suit for $11.5M
May 31 2016 // An attorney representing mechanics for a school bus company says the company has agreed to pay $11.5 million to settle a California lawsuit claiming they used unsafe buses to transport San Francisco students. The San...
California Commissioner Lowers Workers’ Comp Advisory Rate
May 31 2016 // California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones adopted and issued a revised advisory pure premium rate, lowering the benchmark to $2.30 per $100 of payroll for workers’ compensation insurance. The change is effective...
VALE Acquires Onyx Transportation Services in California
May 31 2016 // VALE Insurance Partners has acquired 100 percent of the assets of San Francisco, Calif.-based Onyx Transportation Services LLC, the program administrator for Onyx Insurance Company Inc., a risk retention group specializing...
RIC Taps Kaneko and Clansen in California
May 27 2016 // RIC Insurance General Agency Inc. has named Garett Kaneko senior vice president of sales and marketing and Tom Clansen vice president of commercial lines. Both will be based in California. Garett will work out of...
EPIC Names Tan Surety Manager in Northern California
May 27 2016 // EPIC Insurance Brokers and Consultants has named Nick Tan surety manager. Tan will be based in EPIC’s San Ramon, Calif. construction services practice and report to Brian Quinn, regional director of...
Heffernan Names Northington Assistant Vice President in Southern California
May 27 2016 // Heffernan Insurance Brokers has named Paula Northington assistant vice president of employee benefits in its Orange County, Calif. office. Northington began her career in the financial services industry with Private Ledger...
What University of Washington’s Climate Risk and Insurance Summit Has in Common with Paris
May 26 2016 // It may not be a climate change summit for the ages like last year’s Paris meeting in which world leaders hashed out a historic agreement to reduce carbon emissions, but it does have two things in common with the 2015...
California School District Aide Busted for Felony Workers’ Comp Fraud
May 26 2016 // An employee of a Southern California school district has been arrested on charges of workers’ compensation fraud for allegedly racking up $33,000 in treatments and disability payments. Juanita Denise Schmittle, 50,...
Johnson & Johnson Gets Sued by California over Marketing for Pelvic Mesh
May 26 2016 // California has accused Johnson & Johnson of failing to warn doctors and patients about the severity and frequency of complications associated with its pelvic mesh devices. According to the lawsuit filed by the...
EPIC Adds Perata to Golf Insurance Services Team in California
May 26 2016 // EPIC Insurance Brokers and Consultants has named Jake Perata an insurance broker/producer for the firm’s Sacramento, Calif.-based golf insurance services practice. Perata is responsible for new business development...
