Latest Legislation Headlines
All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
California Court Rules Workers’ Comp Law Provides Exclusive Remedy in Utilization Review Case
Sep 3 2018 // The California Supreme Court issued an opinion in late August that utilization review physicians cannot be sued for malpractice, upholding established law that the workers’ comp system provides injured employees an...
15 Emerging Risks Worth Watching That Are Not Cyber
Sep 3 2018 // When insurance experts are asked what they see as the most important emerging risk for the property/casualty insurance industry, their consensus is cyber in some form. While cyber obviously poses tremendous risks, some...
Illinois Governor Sends Workers’ Comp Bill Back to Lawmakers
Aug 30 2018 // Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner has vetoed, with recommended changes, a workers’ compensation measure that would have allowed for interest to be paid on delayed payment in disputes between insurers and medical service...
Judge Says FEMA Can End Motel Payments for Hurricane Maria Evacuees
Aug 30 2018 // A federal judge on Thursday rejected a request to block the U.S. government from cutting off aid to hundreds of Puerto Rican families who fled the hurricane-ravaged island in 2017 and are living in hotels and motels across...
China’s Largest Ride-Hailing Firm Didi Suspends Service After 2nd Passenger Killing
Aug 30 2018 // China’s largest ride-hailing company Didi Chuxing has suspended its carpooling service after a passenger was killed, and is likely to face tighter oversight that will squeeze driver numbers and extend customer...
Vermont Residents Learn More About River Regulations for Flooding
Aug 28 2018 // The Norwich Planning Commission in Vermont says it is gathering information on implementing proposed river corridor regulations. The commission and municipal Planning Director Rod Francis met last Thursday with about 15...
Ban on Publishing Blueprints for 3-D Guns Extended by Judge
Aug 28 2018 // A U.S. judge extended a ban on publishing blueprints for 3-D printed guns online, handing a procedural victory to states and gun-control groups that argue the practice will make it easy for criminals and terrorists to get...
California’s Plan to Help Utilities Deal With Fire Costs
Aug 27 2018 // California lawmakers outlined a proposal to help PG&E Corp. and other utilities cope with billions of dollars of potential damages from deadly wildfires that ravaged the state last year. The plan, part of a broad...
Airbnb Sues New York City to Block User-Data Bill Over Privacy
Aug 27 2018 // Home-rental providers Airbnb Inc. and HomeAway are suing New York City over a recently passed law that allows the collection of data on the websites’ hosts, claiming the ordinance violates users’ constitutional...
Senate Republicans Prepare Pre-Existing Condition Bill in Case Obamacare Nixed
Aug 27 2018 // Ten Senate Republicans have introduced legislation that would reinstate Obamacare rules that prohibit insurers from turning away people with pre-existing conditions if a new lawsuit that seeks to invalidate the healthcare...
South Carolina Supreme Court Appoints Judge to Manage Opioid Lawsuits
Aug 27 2018 // South Carolina’s high court has appointed a single judge to handle any lawsuits related to opioids in the state system. On Thursday, the state Supreme Court assigned Circuit Court Judge Perry Gravely to the task....
J&J Vows to Appeal After Missouri Judge Affirms $4.69B Talc Verdict
Aug 23 2018 // A Missouri trial court judge has affirmed the massive $4.69 billion verdict against Johnson & Johnson in a case involving 22 women and their families who alleged the company’s talc-based products, including its...
Federal Judge Keeps Duke Energy Water Pollution Lawsuit Alive
Aug 22 2018 // A federal judge is keeping alive a lawsuit accusing the country’s second-largest electricity company of violating water pollution laws by allowing potentially toxic coal ash sludge into neighboring waterways. U.S....
Republicans Move to Clarify Tax Provision on Sexual Harassment Claims
Aug 21 2018 // U.S. Senate Republicans on Thursday sought to correct a section of President Donald Trump’s tax overhaul that threatened to prevent sexual harassment victims from claiming a tax deduction for the legal costs they...
VW’s CEO Knew About Cheating Software Before Scandal Emerged: Der Spiegel
Aug 21 2018 // Volkswagen Chief Executive Herbert Diess was told about the existence of cheating software in cars two months before regulators blew the whistle on a multi-billion exhaust emissions scandal, German magazine Der Spiegel...
California’s Plan for PG&E Bonds to Cover Fire Damages in Final Stages
Aug 20 2018 // California is finalizing the details of a plan that could let PG&E Corp. issue bonds to cover potential damages from wildfires that destroyed thousands of homes last year. The details are still being worked out, and a...
Washington Lawmaker Sues University, Investigator over Firing
Aug 20 2018 // Republican Rep. Matt Manweller is suing Central Washington University and the investigator it hired to look into allegations of inappropriate conduct. Manweller, a political professor at the college since 2003, was fired...
Changes in California Fire-Liability Law Looking Less Likely
Aug 20 2018 // California utilities won’t get a break from lawmakers who were weighing changes to state liability laws that expose the companies to billions in potential damages from last year’s wildfires. Lawmakers...
No-Deal Brexit: A Lose-Lose for UK and EU Financial Stability
Aug 20 2018 // With Brexit talks back from the summer holidays, it’s worth considering one way in which failure to reach a deal before the U.K.’s departure in March would also be bad for the European Union. Such an outcome...
Court Says Trump Administration Must Implement Chemical Safety Rule
Aug 20 2018 // A federal appeals court on Friday ordered the Trump administration to immediately implement an Obama-era chemical safety rule introduced in response to a 2013 explosion at a fertilizer plant in Texas that killed 15...
