Monthly Archives: <span>December 2018</span>

Wyoming Boss Required Scientology for Employee, Suit Alleges

A former employee of a Wyoming occupational therapy office says the owner of the business pressured her to take Scientology courses as a condition of her employment. Julie A. Rohrbacher filed a lawsuit in federal court Dec. 17 against Teton …

Workers’ Lawsuit Against Washington Farm Given Class-Action Status

A U.S. District Court judge in Seattle, Wash. has certified a class-action lawsuit on behalf of some 600 Mexican workers who have alleged labor abuses at a Whatcom County blueberry farm. The Seattle Times reported the lawsuit alleges the company …

$1M Settlement in Man’s Traffic Death in Hawaii

Kauai officials have agreed to pay $1 million to the family of a man who died after being hit by a police cruiser. The Garden Island reports the family of 19-year-old Michael Kocher Jr. reached a settlement with Kauai County …

California Regulators May Break up PG&E Over Safety Concerns

California regulators said they are considering splitting up Pacific Gas & Electric Co. or making other drastic changes amid concerns over the utility’s role in recent gas explosions and wildfires. Among the options under consideration by the California Public Utilities …

Victim’s Family Sues Boeing Over Lion Air Flight Crash

The family of a man who was killed when a Lion Air flight crashed in October has sued Boeing Co., alleging the 737 MAX 8 aircraft was “unreasonably dangerous” and demanding a jury trial in Chicago, where the U.S. manufacturer …

16.7 Million Recalled Takata Air Bags Still Unrepaired and on U.S. Roads

More than three years after the government took over management of recalls involving dangerous Takata air bag inflators, one third of the recalled inflators still have not been replaced. That’s according to an annual report on the recalls released by …

The Hilb Group Acquires Massachusetts’ H.J. Knight International Insurance Agency

The Hilb Group LLC (THG) has acquired Massachusetts-based H.J. Knight International Insurance Agency Inc. (HJK). The transaction became effective December 1, 2018. HJK is a full-service brokerage in the commercial insurance and risk management industry. Founded in 1987, the company …

Plymouth Rock to Acquire MAPFRE Insurance Company of New York

The New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) has approved an application by Plymouth Rock Assurance Corporation to acquire MAPFRE Insurance Company of New York, a New York domestic property and casualty insurer, which will now be known as …

Feds Upset Over Lack of Access to Limo in Fatal New York Wreck

The National Transportation Safety Board told a New York prosecutor she has hampered the agency’s efforts to determine the cause of the limousine crash that killed 20 people in her rural upstate county, the nation’s deadliest transportation wreck in nearly …

Vermont Hires New Chief Information Security Officer

The state of Vermont has hired a new chief information security officer. The appointment of Nicholas Andersen was announced by the state last week. Agency of Digital Services Secretary John Quinn says Andersen’s “skillset and experiences will benefit our ongoing …