Latest Legislation Headlines
All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Appeals Court Rules Workers Can’t Sue Alabama Over Blocked Minimum Wage Boost
Jan 8 2020 // Fast food workers can’t sue the Alabama attorney general over a 2016 state law that blocked a minimum wage increase in the state’s largest city, a federal appeals court ruled last month. The 11th U.S. Circuit...
Judge to Approve $215M Settlement for USC Gynecologist’s Patients
Jan 8 2020 // A federal judge is likely to approve a $215 million class-action settlement with thousands of former patients of a campus gynecologist at the University of Southern California who has been accused of sexual abuse and...
Lawyers Try Unusual Legal Path to Advance Sex Abuse Claims Against Boy Scouts
Jan 8 2020 // A team of lawyers filed a lawsuit this week in federal court in Washington, D.C., seeking to establish the nation’s capital as a venue for men across the U.S. to sue the Boy Scouts of America for allegedly failing to...
Trump Administration Seeks to Limit ‘Overreach’ of Regulation of Artificial Intelligence
Jan 8 2020 // The White House on Tuesday proposed regulatory principles to govern the development and use of artificial intelligence (AI) aimed at limiting authorities’ “overreach,” and said it wants European officials...
Rehabilitation of Florida Insurer Windhaven Deemed ‘Useless’; Judge Orders Liquidation
Jan 7 2020 // Plans to rehabilitate Florida auto insurer Windhaven Insurance Co. have been deemed “useless” and the company will instead be liquidated. In a Jan. 6 order, Leon County Court Judge Ronald W. Flury said the...
California Eyes Climate Bond to Prepare For Disasters
Jan 6 2020 // In a state burdened by billions of dollars in wildfire damage, California lawmakers are hoping for an advance loan before the next climate-fueled catastrophe hits. Lawmakers in the Democratic-dominated state Legislature...
Judge Triples Award for Hewlett Packard Against Quanta in Price-Fixing Scheme
Jan 6 2020 // HP Inc. was awarded $439 million in damages against Quanta Storage Inc. and its U.S. subsidiary after a federal judge tripled a jury’s 2019 award for damages caused by a widespread scheme to inflate the price of...
20 Democratic States Seek Supreme Court Ruling on Affordable Care Act
Jan 5 2020 // In a move that could put the Obama-era health law squarely in the middle of the 2020 election, Democratic-led states Friday asked the Supreme Court for a fast-track review of a recent court ruling that declared part of the...
Commentary: Are You Ready, Nevada? Nine New Laws for the New Year
Jan 3 2020 // Don’t let hindsight be 2020. While others are enjoying the holidays and a well-deserved break, Nevada businesses should “check their lists twice” to make sure they are compliant with a host of new laws...
America Is Still Waiting for Trump’s ‘Much Better’ Replacement for Obamacare
Jan 3 2020 // As a candidate for the White House, Donald Trump repeatedly promised that he would “immediately” replace President Barack Obama’s health care law with a plan of his own that would provide “insurance...
2020 Predictions from Cannabis Industry Experts: More Insurance Business
Jan 2 2020 // More legalization in more states. More product liability risks. More regulations. More M&A. More of many things is what insurance professionals involved in the cannabis industry can expect in 2020. Insurance Journal...
Refusing to Dismiss Lawsuit, Texas Judge Orders Alex Jones to Pay $100K in Sandy Hook Case
Jan 2 2020 // A Texas judge ordered conspiracy theorist Alex Jones to pay $100,000 in legal fees and refused to dismiss a lawsuit that targets the Infowars host for using his show to promote falsehoods that the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre...
Rhode Island Considers Permanent Flavored Vape Products Ban
Jan 2 2020 // Rhode Island’s health department is proposing to permanently ban the sale of flavored vaping products in the state. The department issued a public notice last week that it wants to make the temporary ban currently in...
Judge Denies Motion for New Trial in Boat Sinking Case
Jan 2 2020 // A man whose boat sank in 2016 resulting in his mother being lost at sea was denied a new trial Monday by a federal judge amid an ongoing dispute with insurance companies over the boat’s seaworthiness. Insurers said...
Insurance Journal’s Top 10 East Region Stories of 2019
Jan 2 2020 // A new year is a time of reflection for some, and last year, the city of Boston began 2019 by reflecting on an important piece of the city’s history: the 100-year anniversary of The Great Molasses Flood. The flood,...
Insurance Journal’s Top 10 Midwest Region Stories of 2019
Jan 2 2020 // The expanding legalization of marijuana in Midwest states captured the attention of Insurance Journal readers last year. Illinois became the 11th state to legalize recreational cannabis when Gov. J.B. Pritzker in June 2019...
Insurance Journal’s Top 10 South Central Region Stories of 2019
Jan 2 2020 // It almost seemed like there was a major fire or explosion per month at one petrochemical facility or another in the South Central region last year. That’s not really the case, but there were a number of high-profile...
Judge Temporarily Blocks California Gig Worker Law for Truckers
Jan 2 2020 // A federal judge has temporarily blocked a California labor law meant to take effect Jan. 1 from impacting over 70,000 independent truckers by granting a ‘temporary restraining order.’ U.S. District Judge Roger...
Insurance Journal’s Top 10 Southeast Region Stories of 2019
Jan 2 2020 // It was a relatively quiet year for the Southeast in terms of major catastrophes compared with 2018 when Hurricane’s Michael and Florence caused major damage in the region. This year, Hurricane Dorian sideswiped the...
In Midwest, Legal Marijuana Sales May Spark Interstate Tension
Dec 31 2019 // Retailers legally selling marijuana for the past month in Michigan say they have drawn customers from surrounding Midwestern states where the drug remains illegal and, as Illinois prepares to joins the recreational market...
