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Cash This Check for $250, and Sign Away Your Right to Sue

The perennial issue in the gig economy is whether workers should be classified as employees. Uber Technologies Inc., Lyft Inc. and other companies that rely on contract work have dealt with this question in a number of ways: staging PR …

ABC Test for Independent Contractor Status Applies Retroactively: Viewpoint

Last year, the California Supreme Court announced a new standard, known as the “ABC” test for determining whether a worker is an employee or independent contractor in wage and hour cases. (Dynamex Ops. W. Inc. v. Superior Court (2018) 4 …

Quakes Push Californians to Prepare for the Next Big Jolt

RIDGECREST, Calif. — Shaken residents were cleaning up Sunday from two of the biggest earthquakes to rattle California in decades as scientists warn that both should serve as a wake-up call to be ready when the long-dreaded “Big One” strikes. …

Sedgwick’s Purchase of York Furthers Consolidation of TPA Industry

Sedgwick announced Monday that it has signed an agreement to purchase York Risk Services, continuing a long-term consolidation trend among third-party administrators. The purchase of York — which must be approved by federal regulators — would mark Sedgwick’s third acquisition …

Searches Find Nobody in Blast-Damaged Nevada Dorm

Thorough searches of a mostly empty University of Nevada, Reno, dormitory that was heavily damaged by an explosion found nobody inside and all students accounted for, officials said Saturday. The cause of the Friday explosion that blew out windows and …

‘Like the World was Ending’: Shopping Plaza Blast Injures 21

PLANTATION, Fla. — A vacant pizza restaurant exploded Saturday in a thundering roar at a South Florida shopping plaza, injuring more than 20 people as large chunks of concrete flew through the air. The blast flung debris widely along a …

After Brutal Spring Floods, U.S. Farmers Face Big Losses

The planting season ended more than a month ago, but much of 39-year-old Greg McGlinch’s 450-acre farm in Darke County, Ohio, is either under water or still saturated from record spring rains. Together with his father, McGlinch, a fifth-generation crop …

Ruling Against Amazon May Prove Broader Blow to Its Business Model

A federal court ruling that Amazon.com Inc. can be held liable for a dog collar sold on its website that partly blinded a woman could complicate the online merchant’s business if it is applied broadly. The Third Circuit Court of …

PG&E, Edison May Not Get California Help on Fires by July 12

California’s biggest utilities — PG&E Corp., Edison International and Sempra Energy — may not get the help they need to deal with multi-billion dollar wildfire liabilities before lawmakers adjourn July 12 for recess. Governor Gavin Newsom signaled that pending legislation …

An Earthquake’s Impact Can Be Predicted – But Only After it Hits

Over the next week, Southern California has only a 27% chance of experiencing a third earthquake greater than magnitude 6, but a 96% chance of going through a tremor of magnitude 5 or higher. Those precise probabilities were generated by …

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