Latest Legislation Headlines

All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Citing Shield Law, Judge Dismisses Sandy Hook Families’ Suit Against Gun Manufacturer

Oct 17 2016 // A Connecticut judge threw out a lawsuit by families of victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting, a major victory for the gun industry and in particular Remington Arms Co., maker of the assault weapon used in the...

U.S. Adjustments to Rules on Tax Inversions Include Exemption for Insurers

Oct 14 2016 // The U.S. Treasury Department softened new rules aimed at preventing multinational companies from shifting their profits offshore to lower-tax countries — a response to sustained criticism from big business and from...

OSHA Proposes 18 Changes to Safety Standards to Reduce Employer Costs

Oct 12 2016 // The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is proposing 18 changes to the agency’s recordkeeping, general industry, maritime and construction standards. The agency estimates that proposed revisions could save...

New Scrutiny for Oklahoma Workers’ Comp System

Oct 11 2016 // Three years after passage of sweeping legislation that revamped Oklahoma’s workers’ compensation system, courts are scrapping significant parts of the law in decisions that say the regulations violate the state...

Dentons Hires Sarchio to Insurance Regulatory Practice in New York and Florida

Oct 11 2016 // Global law firm Dentons has named John J. Sarchio as a partner in its insurance regulatory practice.In this role, he will advise clients on insurance industry mergers, acquisitions and financings, reinsurance transactions,...

Judge Skeptical over Airbnb Posture in San Francisco Rental Law Suit

Oct 10 2016 // A U.S. judge expressed skepticism toward a bid by Airbnb to halt a San Francisco law that imposes fines on home rental companies for processing bookings by hosts not registered with the city.In its lawsuit against San...

Pennsylvania Adopts New Fracking Regulations

Oct 10 2016 // New regulations governing the extraction of natural gas through fracking went into effect on Saturday in Pennsylvania, the first overhaul since the industry took off in the state more than 10 years ago.The new rules allow...

Utah City Passes Safety Regulations for Growing Number of Trampoline Gyms

Oct 7 2016 // Concerns about broken bones and safety at trampoline gyms has prompted the Provo city council to pass new regulations requiring the facilities to have supervised jumping, injury reporting and insurance.The Daily Herald...

Judge Allows Age Bias Suit Against Google

Oct 6 2016 // A woman’s age-discrimination lawsuit against Google can include others who might have been denied a job with the company because they were deemed too old.A federal judge in San Jose, California, on Wednesday gave...

MetLife Decides to Spinoff U.S. Retail Division

Oct 6 2016 // MetLife Inc. has filed for a spinoff of a U.S. retail unit after considering alternate plans to sell the business or exit through an initial public offering.At least 80.1 percent of the shares in the unit, Brighthouse...

Lien Consolidation Court, Fraud Part of Focus at California Comp Conference

Oct 5 2016 // The state’s top two labor officials were understandably high on the impact they expect two bills recently signed by Gov. Jerry Brown will have on California’s workers’ comp system and bad actors who have...

New Jersey Train Engineer Says He Can’t Remember Crash

Oct 5 2016 // The engineer at the controls of the train that smashed into a commuter rail terminal, killing a woman and injuring more than 100 people, told federal investigators he was going only 10 mph as he approached the station but...

U.S. Sees Automakers Complying with Voluntary Guidelines for Autonomous Vehicles

Oct 5 2016 // U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx told Reuters he expects automakers and tech companies will comply with voluntary guidelines his department issued last month for autonomous vehicles.The National Highway Traffic...

New Mexico Regulator Seeks More Time to go after Back Taxes from Insures

Oct 3 2016 // New Mexico’s superintendent of insurance pleaded Wednesday for more time to recover unpaid taxes on insurance premiums and investigate at least one company, after an outside audit uncovered $193 million in...

Judge May Split Anthem-Cigna Merger Trial into Two Parts

Oct 3 2016 // The judge who will rule on whether the government may stop health insurer Anthem from buying competitor Cigna said Friday that she was considering splitting the trial into phases.Judge Amy Berman Jackson of the U.S....

Widow Sues Saudi Arabia for Sept. 11 Attacks Under New Law

Oct 3 2016 // A woman widowed when her husband was killed at the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001 sued the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia just two days after Congress enacted legislation allowing Americans to sue foreign governments for allegedly...

Auditor Says Kentucky Misused State Insurance Tax Funds

Oct 3 2016 // The Kentucky Law Enforcement Foundation Program Fund is supposed to be spent on training for police officers. But state lawmakers have raided its coffers for other purposes so often it forced officials to increase a tax on...

New York Proposes Cybersecurity Regulation for Insurers, Banks

Oct 3 2016 // The New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) has proposed cybersecurity regulation for financial services companies that aims to protect New York state’s financial services industry from an increasing...

Report: Alabama No. 1 in Country for Prescription Opioid Use

Oct 3 2016 // Alabama has the highest level of prescription opioid use in the country, and companies that make the painkillers and their allies have hired an average of 18 lobbyists annually in the state since 2006 to push their...

West Virginia Lawmakers Approve $85M in Flood Relief

Oct 3 2016 // West Virginia lawmakers addressed recovery costs from deadly floods in June in a brief session last month.The Senate adjourned Sept. 20 after a two-day session that also included the confirmation of gubernatorial...