Latest USA Headlines

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

OSHA Extends Comment Period for Injury Reporting Rule

Sep 23 2015 // The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is extending the deadline for submitting comments on a proposed rule that it says clarifies an employer’s continuing obligation to make and maintain an...

China’s President Xi Pledges ‘New Model’ of ‘Mutual Respect’ with U.S. Amid Tensions

Sep 23 2015 // Chinese President Xi Jinping opened his U.S. visit by seeking to ease concerns on almost every dispute between the two powers, even expressing readiness to cut a deal on one of the thorniest issues, cybersecurity.In a...

Clinton Targets High Drug Prices, Consumer Marketing

Sep 23 2015 // U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton proposed on Tuesday a $250 monthly cap on out-of-pocket prescription drug costs and other measures to stop what she called “price gouging” by...

Aetna Vows to Hike Pay for Low Wage Humana Workers After Takeover

Sep 23 2015 // Aetna Inc. plans to give raises to thousands of low-wage Humana Inc. employees as part of its acquisition of its smaller health-insurance rival.Pay for about 10,000 Humana employees will be lifted to $16 an hour after the...

Former Peanut Exec Gets 28 Years for Georgia Plant Salmonella Outbreak

Sep 23 2015 // A former peanut company executive was sentenced Monday to 28 years in prison for his role in a deadly salmonella outbreak, the stiffest punishment ever handed out to a producer in a foodborne illness case.The outbreak in...

Wisconsin Contractor to Pay $140K to Settle Age Discrimination, Retaliation Suit

Sep 22 2015 // Stack Bros. Mechanical Contractors Inc. of Superior, Wis., a heating and plumbing contractor in northern Wisconsin and northern Minnesota, will pay $140,000 and furnish other relief to settle an age discrimination and...

Trying to Put a Price Tag on Volkswagen’s Emission-Fraud Scandal

Sep 22 2015 // An $18 billion liability figure attached itself last Friday to Volkswagen’s diesel disaster. This morning comes news that the German car maker has set aside $7.3 billion (€6.5 billion) to cover a scandal spreading...

Uber Sues St. Louis Taxi Commission Over Ride-Sharing Ban

Sep 22 2015 // An Uber Technologies Inc. company accused the St. Louis Metropolitan Taxicab Commission in a lawsuit of functioning as a cartel with cab companies to ban its ride-sharing service in what it says is the largest U.S. city...

California Judge Slaps Down Uber Bid to Force Arbitration on Driver

Sep 21 2015 // A former Uber Technologies Inc. driver defeated the company’s bid to force her into arbitration, a second victory after California’s labor commissioner said she should have been considered an employee.A San...

Judge Advances Greenberg’s Starr Suit Over Tax Refund

Sep 21 2015 // Maurice “Hank” Greenberg’s Starr International Co. can move forward with a lawsuit claiming the U.S. owes it a $38 million tax refund.A Washington federal judge on Friday rejected government claims that...

Judge Blocks Texas Company’s Attempt to Shield $600K from Disabled Workers

Sep 21 2015 // U.S. District Chief Judge Jorge A. Solis issued an order on Sept. 11, 2015, to override a confidential settlement that would have re-directed nearly $600,000 away from a class of 32 intellectually disabled former employees...

Wyoming Man And His Insurers to Pay $2.9M for 2012 Wildfire

Sep 21 2015 // A man who accidentally started a 2012 wildfire that burned over a mountain and threatened the town of Jackson has agreed to a $2.9 million payment under a legal settlement.James G. Anderson Jr., 79, will be responsible for...

Beazley, Aspen and Brit Launch ‘International Cyber Consortium’ at Lloyd’s

Sep 21 2015 // Beazley has joined forces with Lloyd’s syndicates managed by Aspen and Brit Global Specialty to launch the International Cyber Consortium.The consortium will focus on providing robust data breach cover to businesses...

Why No GM Employees Have Been Prosecuted for Faulty Ignitions

Sep 21 2015 // The chief U.S. prosecutor in Manhattan blamed gaps in federal law and “siloing” within General Motors Co. for the failure so far to charge any individual employees who may be responsible for faulty ignition...

Aon Benfield Lists 7 Emerging Business Risk Opportunities for Re/Insurers

Sep 21 2015 // Aon Benfield has identified seven emerging risks that present re/insurers with business opportunities over the next five to 10 years, which the announcement listed as “US mortgage credit, the sharing economy,...

Will Uber Employee Status Ruling in California Impact Its Business Model?

Sep 21 2015 // A California Labor Commission ruling in June that an Uber driver is an employee and not a contractor opens the door to more scrutiny over the rideshare giant’s business model, but that was just the proverbial tip of...

Judge OKs $415M Settlement in Worker Suit Against Silicon Valley Giants

Sep 21 2015 // A U.S. judge has granted final approval to a $415 million settlement that ends a high profile lawsuit in which workers accused Apple, Google and two other Silicon Valley companies of conspiring to hold down salaries.The...

Illinois Workers’ Compensation Market at a Glance

Sep 21 2015 // In its annual report for FY 2014, dated June 16, 2015, the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission shows the following: Illinois is one of the top 10 wage states, with wages that run 6 percent higher than the U.S....

Survey: Many Drivers Unaware of Auto Safety Technology

Sep 21 2015 // Adaptive cruise control has been an option on some cars for almost a decade. But in a recent national survey, 65 percent of U.S. drivers didn’t know what it was.The survey, by the University of Iowa Public Policy...

People – Midwest

Sep 21 2015 // Mark C. Russell has been tapped as the next president and chief executive officer of Ohio Mutual Insurance Group, succeeding the company’s current retiring leader Jim Kennedy.Russell comes to Ohio Mutual from...