Ferry Companies Settle With San Francisco After Probe Into Their ‘Complex Policies’ To Deny Employees Health Benefits
Officials learned Hornblower Yachts and its affiliate Alcatraz Cruises inappropriately denied benefits for seasonal employees who worked 20 hours or more a week and failed to offer employees working 20 hours or more a week a health plan at no premium charge.
San Francisco Chronicle:
Hornblower, Alcatraz Ferries Pay $2.75 Million Settlement For San Francisco Health Care Violations
A San Francisco-based ferry company and its affiliate paid the city $2.7 million to settle violations of health care laws for illegally denying health insurance and benefits to hundreds of employees over four years, officials said Tuesday. The San Francisco Office of Labor Standards Enforcement found that Hornblower Yachts and Alcatraz Cruises created “complex policies” as a way of denying health benefits to 421 employees who qualified for them under the Health Care Accountability Ordinance and the Health Care Security Ordinance, according to the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office. (Hernandez, 10/16)
In other news from across the state —
The Bakersfield Californian:
Adventist Health Tehachapi Valley Secures License For Public Occupancy, Sets Date For Guided Tours Of New Hospital
With its license for public occupancy from the state newly in hand, Adventist Health Tehachapi Valley is moving closer to opening its new hospital — so much so that it's ready to allow the community in for much-anticipated guided tours. The community event will take place from noon to 4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 28. ... More than 10 months have been devoted to correcting issues with doors and windows, performing electrical work, enlarging emergency room space, repairing flooring and more to bring the building up to code and pass inspections. (Jackson, 10/16)
Ventura County Star:
Ventura Psychiatric Hospital Damaged In Thomas Fire Reopens
The palm trees surrounding it still bear the black-as-charcoal scars of the Thomas Fire that raged here and left in its path a crisis-level shortage of in-patient psychiatric beds. But nearly 11 months after the over 280,000-acre fire destroyed two of its buildings and triggered an evacuation of 67 patients, Vista del Mar Hospital reopened a 27-bed in-patient care unit Tuesday morning. A second 28-bed unit at the Ventura hillside campus is expected to be fully open in about two months. (Kisken, 10/16)
Capital Public Radio:
Sacramento County Declares Emergency Homeless Shelter Crisis
The Sacramento County supervisors voted on Tuesday to declare a homeless shelter crisis. The declaration will make it eligible for some of the $20 million in state funding for homeless housing programs, if the state approves a request from the county and the city of Sacramento. Both city and county say that is all but a done deal. (Moffitt, 10/16)