Latest Legislation Headlines
All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Judge Orders Georgia Vidalia Onion Farmer to Pay $1.4M in Overtime Suit
Oct 23 2017 // One of the largest producers of Georgia’s famous Vidalia onions must pay $1.4 million in damages and unpaid overtime owed to hundreds of workers, a federal judge ruled. A U.S. District Court judge found that Bland...
Another Johnson Talc Cancer Verdict Reversed; Judge Cites Trial Errors, Jury Misconduct
Oct 23 2017 // A California judge on Friday threw out a $417 million verdict against Johnson & Johnson in a lawsuit by a woman who claimed she developed ovarian cancer after using its talc-based products like Johnson’s Baby...
Judge Wants Evidence in Las Vegas Massacre Secured for Lawsuit
Oct 23 2017 // The Las Vegas resort from which a gunman unleashed the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history has been ordered to preserve photos, surveillance video and gambling records of the shooter and notes by...
Insurers Weigh Premium Hikes for UK’s Tall Buildings After Grenfell Tower Fire
Oct 23 2017 // Insurers are considering raising premiums for tall buildings in Britain with flammable cladding panels and no sprinklers or even excluding related risks following the Grenfell fire in London earlier this year. Inquiries...
Iowa’s Grassley in ‘Violent Opposition’ to Withdrawal of Rule Protecting Animal Farmers
Oct 20 2017 // The Trump administration’s decision to kill a rule designed to protect the rights of farmers who raise chickens, cows and hogs for the United States’ largest meat processors has infuriated farmer advocates,...
Boyd Promoted to Florida Deputy Chief Financial Officer
Oct 20 2017 // The Department of Financial Services’ long-time Legislative Affairs Director Elizabeth Boyd has been promoted to Deputy Chief Financial Officer, according to a statement from Chief Financial Officer Jimmy...
California Workers’ Comp Institute Recaps Year in Legislation
Oct 19 2017 // The California Workers’ Compensation Institute this week released a report on a list of bills that will affect the workers’ comp system. The bills were recently signed into law at the end of the Legislative...
How Nondisclosure Agreements Protect Bosses Like Weinstein
Oct 19 2017 // A first-year associate at a Manhattan law firm brought her complaint of sexual harassment to the managing partner. Her male boss, she said, had told her to take off her clothing. After months during which she continued to...
How to Make Facebook Liable for Its Content: Viewpoint
Oct 19 2017 // Now that U.S. politicians know that Facebook is unable to stop malicious actors from using it to influence public opinion, the social network is doing its best to avoid tougher regulatory treatment. It shouldn’t be...
Florida Insurance Regulator Launches New Information Subscription Service
Oct 19 2017 // The Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) has introduced a new subscription service where consumers and other interested parties can sign up and receive their choice of communications from the Florida Office of Insurance...
New York Finalizes Regulations to Crack Down on Title Insurance Industry
Oct 18 2017 // The New York Department of Financial Services (DFS) has finalized two new regulations to protect New Yorkers and crack down on unscrupulous practices in the title insurance industry. These regulations, which are the...
Distracted Driving Is More Deadly Than Data Shows: Special Report
Oct 18 2017 // Jennifer Smith doesn’t like the term “accident.” It implies too much chance and too little culpability. A “crash” killed her mother in 2008, she insists, when her car was broadsided by another...
Gov. Brown Signs Bill that Could Energize Insurance Markets
Oct 16 2017 // Given the far-reaching nature of some of the bills that Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law in recent weeks, it’s no surprise that a relatively minor tweak to the insurance code didn’t muscle its way onto the...
Bill to Lower Michigan Auto Insurance Premiums on Shaky Ground
Oct 16 2017 // Legislation to reduce Michigan’s high auto insurance premiums by letting drivers opt out of mandatory unlimited medical coverage is in peril, with majority Republicans lacking enough support to pass it on their own...
FAA Can’t Keep Up with Requests for Drone Flights in Restricted Areas
Oct 16 2017 // Reports of safety incidents involving civilian drones have surged to an average of 250 a month, leading to a federal “emergency” action to approve drone flights in restricted areas, according to a government...
Worker Safety, Regulation Overload Among Highlights of Drone Expo in California
Oct 16 2017 // Drones may already be impacting the world of workers’ compensation. Fewer workers on communications towers are falling to their deaths, according to Todd Schlekeway, executive director of the National Association of...
Getting Highly Automated Vehicles on the Road
Oct 16 2017 // A number of current vehicle safety standards are blocking the development of the more sophisticated self-driving cars and trucks. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration promulgates Federal Motor Vehicle Safety...
Trump Defends Killing Off Obamacare Subsidies; 18 States Sue in Uphill Battle
Oct 15 2017 // Eighteen U.S. states sued President Donald Trump’s administration on Friday to stop him from scrapping a key component of Obamacare, subsidies to insurers that help millions of low-income people pay medical expenses,...
Jury Misconduct, Judge’s Mistake to Blame for $417M Talc Verdict, Argues J&J
Oct 13 2017 // Johnson & Johnson says a $417 million verdict in a talc powder cancer case should be thrown out because three jurors were excluded by fellow panelists from the decision-making process. The three were wrongly left out...
DFS Finalizes Regulation to Strengthen New York No-Fault Insurance Law
Oct 13 2017 // A new regulation issued by the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) aims to curb costs and abuses of New York’s no-fault insurance law while leveling the playing field for New York insurers,...
