Construction Firm to Pay $50K to Settle Retaliation Claim
Pro Pallet, LLC, a Pennsylvania-based construction company, will pay $50,000 and furnish other relief to settle a retaliation lawsuit filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, a human resources manager received a complaint of …
Judge Allows Vermont Suit Alleging Police Bias, Excessive Force Against Black Teen
A Vermont judge has denied the city of Burlington’s request to dismiss a lawsuit alleging that police used excessive force and discriminated against a Black teenager whose mother had called law enforcement to teach him a lesson about stealing. When …
Third Trial Over Zantac Cancer Claims Ends With Hung Jury
The third trial over claims that discontinued heartburn drug Zantac ended in a mistrial on Wednesday when jurors could not agree about whether pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim was responsible for an Illinois man’s cancer. Martin Gross alleged in his lawsuit …
People Moves: Davis Joins Alliant Insurance Services Team as SVP in Oregon
Alliant Insurance Services named Travis Davis a senior vice president within its Alliant Americas division. Davis is based in Bend, Oregon. Davis has a decade of experience in the insurance industry, supplemented by tenure as an engineer and project manager. …
EPA Issues Rare Emergency Ban on Pesticide That Damages Fetuses
For the first time in roughly 40 years, the Environmental Protection Agency used its emergency authority to halt the sale of a weed-killing pesticide that harms the development of unborn babies. Officials took the rare step because the pesticide DCPA, …
Student-on-Employee Workers’ Compensation Assault Claims Drop: Gallagher Basset
The number of workers’ compensation claims for student-on-school-employee assault dropped significantly during the 2023-24 school year, according to data from Gallagher Basset. This change comes after two years of increasing claims following the 2020-21 school year. Citing client numbers covering …
New Hampshire Supreme Court Reverses Police Chief’s Misconduct Verdict
The New Hampshire Supreme Court has reversed the conviction of a former police chief who was accused of violating sexual harassment policies following a call he made to a female employee, saying a judge misinterpreted the law. In a 3-1 …
Hub International Acquires Southern Colorado Insurance
Hub International Ltd. acquired the assets of SCIC LLC (Southern Colorado Insurance) in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Debbie Klisch, owner, and Andrew Klisch, president, and the Southern Colorado Insurance team will join Hub Colorado. Southern Colorado Insurance will be referred to …
California Commissioner Orders Insurance Cancelation Moratorium for 185K Residents
California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara issued a one-year moratorium on insurance companies to preserve residential insurance coverage for more than 185,000 policyholders affected by the Park, Borel and Gold Complex fires. The moratorium shields those living within the perimeters or …
Liberty Mutual’s ‘Deliberate Actions’ Keep It on Path to Profit
Liberty Mutual Holding Co. continued to put 2023’s losses behind it and carefully manage growth in 2024, reporting consolidated net income of $717 million for the second quarter versus a net loss of $585 million for the same period in …
Fast-Moving Southern California Wildfire Torched Hillside Homes, Forcing Evacuations
A fast-moving wildfire that swept into a Southern California hillside community this week destroyed five homes and damaged three others, authorities said. The flames erupted Monday afternoon and chased residents from the neighborhood in San Bernardino, about 60 miles east …
Arkansas Fines PBMs $1.5M for Violating State Law
Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Insurance Department Commissioner Alan McClain announced Tuesday notices of penalties and hearings against four major pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), Caremark, Magellan, Express Scripts, and MedImpact. These enforcement actions follow on the heels of a …
Study Links Fracking Wastewater Injection to Surface Blowouts in West Texas Oil Wells
Fracking wastewater, injected underground for permanent disposal, traveled 12 miles through geological faults before bursting to the surface through a previously plugged West Texas oil well in 2022, according to a new study from Southern Methodist University. It’s the first …
People Moves: Lockton Names Ryan US President; Everest Names Buonpane and Stewart to Lead US Wholesale
Lockton Names Ryan US President Lockton, headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, appointed Tim Ryan as U.S. president. Ryan has 19 years of experience as the COO of Lockton’s Northeast business and 30 years of industry experience. Ryan reports to Ron …
People Moves: Markel Announces 2 Key Hires for International Casualty Team; Howden Re Taps Gruen From AXIS as Head of Cyber Threat Intelligence
This edition of International People Moves details appointments at Markel and Howden Re. A summary of these new hires follows here. Markel Appoints 2 Key Hires for International Casualty Team Markel, the insurance operations within Markel Group, announced the appointment …
Virginia Declares State of Emergency in Anticipation of Tropical Storm Debby
Governor Glenn Youngkin declared a state of emergency for Virginia based on National Weather Service and National Hurricane Center forecasts that indicate the state could see significant rainfall and flooding from Tropical Storm Debby. The Virginia Emergency Operations Center (VEOC) …
King Insurance Partners Acquires Lincoln Group in Georgia
King Insurance Parnters, based in Gainesville, Florida, continues to expand with the acquisition of Lincoln Insurance Group in McDonough, Georgia. Lincoln is an independent agency that offers auto, home, life and commercial inurance coverage, King said in a news release. …
EEOC Sues Illinois Contractor for Disability Discrimination
Alto Ingredients, Inc., a manufacturer of industrial and food-grade, corn-based alcohols, violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) when it terminated an electrician from its campus in Pekin, Illinois, because of his disability, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged …
Former Michigan State Football Coach Sues School Over His Firing
Former Michigan State University head football coach Mel Tucker is suing the university and school leaders, alleging that they wrongfully fired him last year and violated his constitutional rights after he was accused of sexual harassment. The federal lawsuit filed …
Small Tornado Briefly Swept Into Buffalo, Damaging Buildings, Scattering Tree Limbs
A small tornado took Buffalo by surprise Monday, damaging buildings, flipping cars and sending debris swirling over downtown. A spiraling column was caught on multiple videos shortly before 1 p.m. One video showed the cell appearing to move from Lake …