Contractor fined $3.5M for workers comp, other violations​California regulators fined an Oakland contractor more than $3.5 million in wages and penalties for multiple wage theft and labor law violations, including worker misclassification that led to unprotected workers, the state Labor Commissioner’s Office announced Tuesday. 

Psychiatrist convicted of fraud suspended from comp system:

The California Department of Industrial Relations and its Division of Workers’ Compensation said Wednesday it has suspended Pasadena, California-based psychiatrist Jason Hui-Tek Yang from participating in California’s workers compensation system.
Dr. Yang was convicted in Riverside County Superior Court for his involvement in an insurance fraud conspiracy that involved referring patients for unnecessary care to justify workers comp billing, the California Department of Industrial Relations said in a statement.
Dr. Yang has more than 2000 active workers comp liens with an estimated total claim value of more than $13.7 million, according to the statement.
Under Assembly Bill 1244, the workers comp division administrative director is required to suspend medical providers that have been convicted of a crime involving fraud or abuse of the MediCal or Medicare programs or the workers comp system. 
Joyce Famakinwa 
6/8/2017 1:57:00 PM

 
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​Cyber risk is everywhere. Embedded in the hardware of every computer system, in the cloud, in the headlines of national newspapers, and in the worries of risk managers across every sector.
It’s not a new risk, but its constantly evolving nature makes it tough for companies to stay up to speed on exposures, and to know how best to mitigate and transfer the risk.

California’s drought-ridden feet aren’t out of the proverbial fire yet.
This years’ powerful winter storms ended perpetual discourse about the state’s multiyear drought, but there are still 4.5 million homes at high or extreme risk of wildfire in California and other parts of the West, according to a risk analysis report issued today by Verisk Insurance Solutions.

Anil Lewis was behind the wheel of his Ford Mustang convertible on a sunny Atlanta day in 1988, when he nearly hit a pedestrian who appeared in a crosswalk ahead of him, seemingly out of nowhere.
It was then Lewis realized his deteriorating eyesight would soon end his days behind the wheel. Now 53 and legally blind, the prospect of fully autonomous vehicles gives him hope of returning to the road on his own.

​There is a new safety app for smart phone users who work outdoors in the heat. It is called the Heat Safety Tool. The free app was made by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. NIOSH and OSHA made the new app available on Android and iOS platforms. It measures how hot it feels outdoors as well as the actual heat and humidity levels. The two organizations encourage farmers, landscapers, construction workers and other people who work mostly outdoors to use the app and check it frequently during the hottest months of the year. 

​The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Tuesday that new testing is prompting Takata Corp. to declare 2.7 million air bag inflators defective in Ford Motor Co., Nissan Motor Co. and Mazda Motor Corp. vehicles.
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Takata air bag inflators are already linked to 17 deaths and more than 180 injuries worldwide, and the recalls will eventually cover more than 100 million inflators. The auto safety agency said new testing is prompting the recall of some driver-side air bags built from 2015 through 2012.