Latest Legislation Headlines
All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Arkansas Ex-Judge Sentenced in Insurance Fraud Case
Jun 12 2015 // A former Arkansas district judge convicted of drug charges has been sentenced in an unrelated mail fraud case involving American Indian artifacts. Bob Castleman, who was a judge in Pocahontas over a decade ago, has been...
Montana Court Rules Using Inhalants Can Lead to DUI Charge
Jun 12 2015 // A motorist can be charged and convicted of driving under the influence for being in control of a vehicle after inhaling aerosol propellants, the Montana Supreme Court has ruled. The 5-0 decision this week rejected a Butte...
Federal Judge Approves $53.8M Settlements for 82 WTC Cleanup Workers
Jun 12 2015 // A federal judge has approved $53.8 million in settlements for 82 unionized cleanup workers who claimed they were made ill by exposure to toxic dust near the World Trade Center site, court papers showed. The workers were...
Directors & Officers Could Be Liable for Cyber Attacks: Marsh
Jun 12 2015 // Directors and officers need to be certain of their responsibilities relating to the prevention or management of a cyber event, or else they run the risk of being held personally liable should an attack against their firm...
Senate Fails to Advance Cybersecurity Bill
Jun 11 2015 // The U.S. Senate failed on Thursday to advance legislation to strengthen protections against cyber attacks, as Democrats banded together to oppose the measure’s inclusion in a defense policy bill President Barack...
Judge Fines Texas Guardrail Maker $663M over Design Changes
Jun 11 2015 // A federal judge ordered a Texas company to pay $663 million in damages for failing to tell the government about design changes to highway guardrails that critics say made the systems more dangerous. Trinity Industries Inc....
Plan to Limit Vacation Rentals Held off in San Francisco for Now
Jun 11 2015 // San Francisco supervisors tabled further attempts to regulate home-shares this week, despite calls from some members to vote on a plan to limit short-term vacation rentals to 60 days a year. The vote by the Board of...
Judge Denies Uber Arbitration in Dispute with Drivers
Jun 10 2015 // Uber lost a bid to force arbitration in a lawsuit brought by its drivers, as a U.S. judge ruled the smartphone-based taxi service’s 2013 and 2014 employment contracts dealing with arbitration from were...
House Could Vote on Fast-Track Trade Bill Friday
Jun 10 2015 // U.S. lawmakers have reached a deal on funding to help workers who lose their jobs due to trade, possibly paving the way for a vote on legislation key to President Barack Obama’s signature Pacific trade pact as early...
Judge Orders Trinity Guardrail Maker to Pay $663M for Cheating Government
Jun 10 2015 // Trinity Industries Inc., maker of a highway guardrail safety system tied to at least nine deaths, was told by a judge to pay $663 million for defrauding the U.S. government. The decision Tuesday by U.S. District Judge...
South Carolina Jumps Aboard Workers’ Comp Alternative Bandwagon
Jun 10 2015 // A South Carolina lawmaker has introduced workers’ compensation option legislation that would allow qualified businesses in the state to offer their own injury benefit plan to employees. The state is the second one...
President Obama ‘Optimistic’ Court Will Uphold Health Insurance Subsidies
Jun 9 2015 // The U.S. Supreme Court probably shouldn’t have accepted a lawsuit challenging Obamacare’s health insurance subsidies, President Barack Obama said, calling it an “easy case.” “Frankly it...
N.J. Lawmaker Wants to Ban Smoking in Vehicles When Kids Present
Jun 8 2015 // A New Jersey state senator wants to stop smokers from lighting up in vehicles if children 16 and under also are present. Joseph Vitale said the measure he introduced last month would protect children from being exposed to...
Update: Bermuda Court Rules in Favor of PartnerRe; EXOR Responds
Jun 8 2015 // The Supreme Court of Bermuda has denied EXOR’s request to obtain shareholder information from PartnerRe, the reinsurer that is seeking to merge with AXIS Capital Holdings and avoid a hostile takeover from EXOR...
U.S. Regulators Scrutinizing Coal Mines’ Clean-Up Insurance Program
Jun 8 2015 // Coal giant Peabody Energy has been among the harshest critics of federal energy policies, joining a court challenge to the Obama administration’s new clean air regulations and denouncing its promotion of renewable...
Bipartisan Bill Targets Pregnancy Discrimination in Workplace
Jun 8 2015 // A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers introduced legislation last Thursday to boost protections for pregnant workers in response to a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that revived discrimination claims by a former United...
South Carolina Lawmakers to Debate Uber Bill in Special Session
Jun 8 2015 // Debate on a bill allowing Uber to continue operating in South Carolina will extend into the Legislature’s special session. The House refused June 5 by a vote of 81-23 to accept the Senate’s changes to the bill....
North Carolina Legislators Override Governor’s Veto of Workplace Activity Bill
Jun 8 2015 // The North Carolina General Assembly cancelled Gov. Pat McCrory’s veto of a bill designed to give employers in the state legal recourse against people who deliberately get jobs to steal company secrets or record...
South Carolina Lawmakers Fail to Pass Road Funding Bill
Jun 5 2015 // Getting more money to South Carolina roads was a top priority of the governor, lawmakers and businesses for this year. But with one day left in the 2015 session, the road funding bill appeared dead on the Senate...
U.S. Judge Denies Motion to Drop Mine Blast Charges Against Ex-Massey CEO
Jun 5 2015 // A federal judge has denied nine motions to dismiss charges against former Massey Energy Chief Executive Officer Don Blankenship related to a 2010 mine explosion in West Virginia that killed 29 people. Blankenship faces...
