HCAO Requirements

San Francisco contractors and tenants (including those at the city’s international airport and port) must offer minimum health benefits at no cost to covered employees under the HCAO. The ordinance applies to employees who work at least 20 hours per week on a city contract or city property. Employees working on a San Francisco contract are covered, even if their contract work is done outside the city.

Minimum Standards
Effective Jan. 1, 2020, updated minimum standards from the Office of Standards and Labor Enforcement (OLSE) require plans to cover all services listed in California’s current essential health benefit (EHB) benchmark plan. The standards apply to employee-only coverage and don’t include or require dental or vision benefits. The OLSE also has released an updated poster that employers must conspicuously display in each San Francisco worksite by July 1, 2019.

Employers must annually obtain covered employees’ signed acknowledgment of a HCAO statement of rights. Employees may waive their coverage rights by signing the appropriate form. All notices and posters must be available in English, Spanish, Chinese, and any other language spoken by at least 5% of the employees at the workplace or job site.

2020 Limits
Besides covering EHBs, a contractor’s health plan must comply with the following standards:

• Employers must pay for 100% of the coverage with no employee contributions.
• The maximum in-network deductible of $2,000 ($200 for prescriptions drugs) must include 100% of actual expenditures that count toward the medical deductible, regardless of plan type and level.
• The maximum in-network, out-of-pocket maximum (OOPM) expense of $7,850 for 2020 must include all types of cost sharing (deductible, copays, coinsurance, etc.).
• Participants’ cost sharing must be capped at 20% for in-network treatment and 50% for out-of-network care.
• Primary care copayments can’t exceed $45.

Employers may use any health savings/reimbursement product that complies with the minimum OOPM standard, and all gold- and platinum-level plans are deemed compliant, according to the Department of Public Health’s clarifications. Employers can offer other contributory options but must make at least one plan available at no cost to covered employees that meets minimum standards.

Alternative Payment
Effective July 1, 2019, HCAO-covered employers that don’t provide minimum benefits must pay the city an additional $5.40 per hour for covered employees who live or work in San Francisco. For covered employees who live or work outside San Francisco, employers must make these payments directly to the employees. The payment is capped at $216 per workweek.

This rate is annually adjusted for inflation on July 1. Employers should remit these amounts along with the HCAO Payment Option Form. 

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News

By Isabel Keane

Published
Oct. 3, 2023, 10:57 a.m. ET

Residents of Millennium Tower, better known as the Leaning Tower of San Francisco, have been left to foot a $6.8 million bill after a much-needed renovation project failed to fix the troubled luxury building’s 29-inch tilt and caused nasty sewage spills.

Repairs to correct the infamous tower’s 29-inch tilt concluded with residents being billed $10 per square foot of condo space — costing tenants $6.8 million in total — as the project cost $20 million more than the $100 million expected, NBC Bay Area reported.

The 545-foot-tall tower continued to tilt and sink further west after architects attempted to repair its foundation last fall. While the issue has not been fixed, residents were told they had until October to pay for the so-called repairs.

“I don’t know what to do with this place, because it is costly – I cannot live in it,” said Mehrdad Mostafavi, who moved out in June after sewage began to flow out of his kitchen sink.

Residents of Millennium Tower have been hit with a massive bill following so-called repairs done to fix its tilt. San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images

While scrambling to clean up the sewage backup, which Millennium fix engineers warned could happen due to the tower’s tilt, Mostafavi was slapped with a bill for nearly $14,000 from the Tower owners association.

“It’s a luxurious building and famous building, but unfortunately it is not like this for me as an owner,” Mostafavi told the outlet. “I am really suffering.”

Mehrdad Mostafavi moved out of the building in June after sewage began coming out of his sink. NBC Bay Area

Mostafavi said the bill had come after he already dipped into his retirement savings account to pay for his wrecked kitchen.

“I’m really having a hard time seeing how can I leave for the retirement — how to get out of this apartment and do my retirement” he said. “It is very costly…. they keep asking for more money and this is not acceptable for me.”

Mostafavi said he had to dig into his retirement savings to fix the damage the construction caused to his home. NBC Bay Area

Residents were charged $10 per square foot, costing Mostafavi nearly $14,000 for his condo. NBC Bay Area

After homeowners were compensated for lost property value, the tower association was given $150 million to cover costs — but it still was not enough given the troubled project’s numerous setbacks, the association said.

“The delays and the city’s heightened requirements resulted in significant unforeseen project cost increases,” the association’s letter to residents said.

The bill noticed shared a rough accounting for the $6.8 million owed by residents — and tried to assure homeowners that they were not alone in having to pay, since the tower’s developer and the fix contractor pitched in $10 million to offset overruns.

According to recent monitoring data, ever since the construction wrapped in June the building’s tilt has only improved by a fraction.

The 29-inch tilt was first revealed to the luxury building’s residents in 2016.

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• 140, mostly elderly black Evanston residents will receive $25,000 in reparations
• Chicago committed to $10 million over the next 10 years on local reparations
• Payments can come in either vouchers or cash and are funded by marijuana and real-estate transfer taxes. The program will be a ‘test run for the whole country’

A city in Illinois is expected to pay 140 mostly elderly black residents $25,000 each in reparations by the end of the year in what it is calling a ‘test run for the whole country.’

In 2019, Evanston, a city of 75,000 people north of Chicago, committed to paying $10 million over the next 10 years in local reparations and it has started to deliver on that promise nearly four years later.

First approved in March of 2021, the program will benefit black residents if they, or their ancestors, lived in the city between 1919 and 1969 or if they can show they suffered housing discrimination due to the city’s policies. 

It comes as black communities across the U.S. have rallied to help compensate for the legacy of slavery and discrimination they believe has become entrenched within society.

Robin Simmons (pictured), the then-city council member representing the fifth ward, paved the road to reparations in 2019 – four years later the city is delivering on its promise

Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, Louis Weathers – a recipient of the $25,000 – recalled the first experience he faced with racial prejudice. 

The 88-year-old retired postal worker and Korean War veteran claimed the white teacher at his integrated junior high school would make it difficult for black students to show up their white peers.

‘Every time we raised our hand, she wouldn’t call on us, but when we didn’t raise our hands, she would — to make you look like a dummy,’ Weathers said. 

‘We got onto that, though. When we didn’t know the answer, we raised our hands.’

Weathers will be among the first to benefit from the program which seeks to pay residents for discrimination and housing – but also works to address gaps in education and economic development.

The payments, which come in either vouchers or cash, are funded by marijuana and real-estate transfer taxes and are expected to lead the country, according to supporters.

‘I see it as like a test run for the whole country,’ Justin Hansford, a leading advocate for reparations at the federal and local level and head of the Thurgood Marshall Civil Rights Center at Howard University told the outlet.

Apart from his time in junior high, Weathers claims he was discriminated in many aspects of his life.

He recalls being excluded from the YMCA, living most his life in the historically black fifth ward – only being allowed to move to a predominantly white neighborhood in 1969 when the laws changed.

Kenneth Wideman, 77, and his sister Shelia Wideman, 75, were among 16 of the first recipients of the program

And when hoping to purchase a home in a white neighborhood, he was forced to threaten a complaint to the real-estate board if the agent didn’t allow him to purchase the home.

Weathers said that he gave his $25,000 to his son, who put it towards debt reduction and upgrades to his condo.

Last month, a task force in California recommended spending billions on reparations as proposals for the rest of the country sit idle.

Meanwhile, a federal bill introduced every year since 1989 that would establish a similar task force at the national level has never been voted on in the House of Representatives.

Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss told the Wall Street Journal that this hasn’t affected the city’s momentum on the issue.

‘Our job here is just to move forward and to continue being that example, to continue illustrating that a small municipality can make real tangible progress,’ he said.

Robin Simmons, the then-city council member representing the fifth ward, paved the road to reparations. 

The fifth ward has historically faced challenges concerning distribution of resources in the City of Evanston, according to the city’s website.

A majority of the population within the ward identify as people of color, while 12 percent of the population of the city is black. 

Simmons mostly considered reparations a national issue dealing directly with slavery but later realized local policies such as zoning undermined predominantly black neighborhoods like the fifth ward.

‘We’ve done all forms of affirmative action and equity work that has been really good, but we have not repaired the past harm by the municipal government,’ she told the publication. 

The program will benefit black residents if they, or their ancestors, lived in the city between 1919 and 1969 or if they can show they suffered housing discrimination due to the city’s policies Federal reparations efforts have stalled for decades, but cities, counties, school districts and universities have taken up the cause

In November 2019, the city passed its plan to spend $10 million on reparations with more than 670 residents having applied.

In 2021, 16 people were chosen at random with the use of a bingo cage but it remains unclear when the first payments were made.

Siblings, Kenneth Wideman, 77, and Shelia Wideman, 75, were among the 16 – but while others received their reparations in a timely manner, the Widemans were somewhat left in the lurch – due to program architects’ decision to forgo direct payouts in lieu of grants to address diminished black homeownership at the time.

Since the siblings didn’t own any property, they did not qualify for two of three of the repayment options – to use the $25,000 either on mortgage payments, or home repairs.

The third option was a down payment for a new home – a choice the siblings flouted in favor of cash. 

For months, they besieged members of the committee and city to reconsider their stipulations, leading them to toss them in May. 

Evanston voted to allow the siblings to get cash payments of $25,000, making them the first in the US to receive direct money.

Wideman told the Wall Street Journal ‘we have not received real reparations, the 40 acres and a mule’ that were promised after the Civil War.

‘I wish people behind me would get that and more than what I got.’

Simmons said the new cash option has reduced the amount of staff work need to disburse the funds. 

It has however questioned the affect it may have on recipients ability for other aid programs – an issue the committee are currently working through.

The committee is currently in the process of verifying more than 500 direct descendants of the initial 140 recipients.

Ramona Burton, 74, said she would use her $25,000 voucher for new windows, a new roof, chimney repairs and an updated electric system for her home.

‘I think it’s a good start,’ she said of Evanston’s program. ‘It’s better than a blank.’

Federal reparations efforts have stalled for decades, but cities, counties, school districts and universities have taken up the cause.

An advisory group in San Francisco recommended that qualifying black adults receive a $5 million lump-sum, guaranteed annual income of at least $97,000 and personal debt forgiveness.

San Francisco supervisors are supposed to take up the proposals later this year. But it is currently battling a separate set of problems, including an exodus of businesses in the downtown area amid crime, homelessness and drug abuse.

New York may soon follow in California by creating a commission to examine the state’s involvement in slavery and consider addressing present-day economic and educational disparities experienced by black people.

An advisory group in San Francisco recommended that qualifying black adults receive a $5 million lump-sum, guaranteed annual income of at least $97,000 and personal debt forgiveness Earlier this week, Native American groups joined the call for reparations centuries after hundreds of tribes had land taken from them by ‘land-grab universities and colleges’

In California, the state’s Reparations Task Force – which released its 1,100-page final report and recommendations to the public on 29 June – and a University of California, Los Angeles study found that roughly two-thirds of Californians are in favor of some form of reparations, though residents are divided on what they should be. 

Roughly two-thirds of Americans oppose the idea of reparations, according to 2021 polling from the University of Massachusetts.

The Pew Research Center found that more than 80 percent of black respondents support some kind of compensation for the descendants of slaves, while a similar majority of white respondents opposed, 2022 polling found.

Earlier this week, Native American groups joined the call for reparations centuries after hundreds of tribes had land taken from them by ‘land-grab universities and colleges.’

An estimated 10.7 million acres of land was taken from 250 tribes following the signing of the Morrill Act by President Abraham Lincoln in 1862.

This law converted tribal lands into initial sites for land-grant higher education institutions in many states.

Now, as several states and cities consider reparations for black Americans, the movement is serving as the impetus for Native American tribes who also believe they also deserve payment for the stolen land. 

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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Mourners streamed into San Francisco City Hall on Wednesday to pay their respects to the late U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, honoring her as fearless, smart and the glue who kept the city together after two political assassinations that catapulted her into the mayor’s office and the national spotlight.

“She wasn’t afraid to do a man’s job. She wasn’t afraid to be a senator. She wasn’t afraid to go after what she wanted,” said Lawanda Carter, 48, of San Francisco. “And that’s encouragement for us women now to have courage.”

Carter was among the scores of everyday San Franciscans and political leaders alike who brought flowers, bowed their heads or clasped their hands in prayer as they stood before Feinstein’s casket, which was draped in an American flag and on display behind velvet ropes. Many said they had never met Feinstein, but wanted to honor an indefatigable public servant who fought to level the playing field for women, members of the LGBTQ community and racial minorities.

Feinstein died early Friday in her Washington, D.C., home of natural causes, said Adam Russell, a spokesperson for her office. She was 90.

She was San Francisco’s first female mayor and one of California’s first two women U.S. senators, a job she first won alongside Barbara Boxer in 1992, dubbed the “ Year of the Woman.” Former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, also of San Francisco, and Mayor London Breed were among the officials who paid their respects.

Feinstein spent much of her career in the U.S. Senate but will be known as the forever mayor of San Francisco, a role she inherited in tragedy. She was president of the Board of Supervisors in November 1978 when a former supervisor assassinated Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk, the city’s first openly gay supervisor, at City Hall.

Feinstein, who found Milk’s body, became acting mayor and won election twice to serve as mayor until 1988.

Georgia Otterson, 76, a health care administrator, said Feinstein wasn’t as politically liberal as she would have liked, but the late mayor earned her respect with how she kept the heartbroken city together.

“We were all mourning together, holding candles. If memory serves me, Joan Baez sang,” Otterson said of an impromptu march that night from the historically gay Castro District to City Hall. “And she held us up.”

As a centrist Democrat, she was criticized by some more liberal voters, including for her longtime support for the death penalty, and as the country became more polarized, for her collegial relationship with Republicans. But the straight, white woman largely earned the gratitude of a city that celebrates its racial and sexual diversity.

She steered San Francisco through the HIV and AIDS crisis, bringing attention to an epidemic ignored by President Ronald Reagan. She also secured federal and private funding to save the city’s iconic cable cars from death by deterioration.

Feinstein led the city as it played host to the Democratic National Convention in 1984. Another San Francisco tradition — “Fleet Week” — was started by Feinstein in 1981, and this year’s annual celebration of air shows, naval ships and military bands is dedicated to her.

Breed recalled looking up to Feinstein when she was a Black kid growing up in public housing and playing the French horn in a middle school band that performed regularly at mayoral events.

“She was so proud of us and she said so, and she took the time to talk to us, express how amazing we were and to remind us that we were her band,” Breed said at a news conference the day after Feinstein’s death.

Mourners Wednesday expressed their pride in Feinstein.

“She kept moving on up. I was proud of her, very proud of her,” said Dorothy Hudson, 81, a retired federal government employee. “She was very kind, very smart. She opened doors up to let people know, ‘You can do it.’”

San Francisco native Cari Donovan placed a bouquet of red and pink lilies and daisies on the floor before the casket. She lingered, crying quietly over a woman she never knew but who was so important to her life.

“She championed and fought for the rights of so many people,” Donovan said. “I’m so grateful. And I really just wanted her family to know how much she meant to me.”

The social worker said she talked to her 28-year-old daughter about the battles Feinstein fought so that younger generations of women could dream bigger. “She was a lioness.”

While Feinstein’s career sent her to Washington, she remained deeply involved in the affairs of San Francisco, the city where she was born and raised. She often called her successors — including Gov. Gavin Newsom — to complain about potholes or trash and to offer advice and encouragement.

John Konstin Sr., owner of John’s Grill, a favorite downtown tourist destination and watering hole for city politicians, recalled Feinstein ordering potholes filled, trees trimmed and ugly scaffolding brought down before San Francisco hosted the 1984 Democratic convention.

“She asked, ‘How long has this scaffolding been up?’ And my dad said ‘Maybe 10 years,’ and the next day it came down,” said Konstin, 59. “It was half a block of scaffolding.”

The restaurant, which is celebrating its 115th anniversary Wednesday, honored Feinstein with flowers beneath a portrait of her that hangs on a wall.

Feinstein’s body will remained in City Hall through the evening and a memorial service is scheduled Thursday outside the building.

Speakers will include Vice President Kamala Harris, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York and Feinstein’s granddaughter Eileen Mariano. President Joe Biden will deliver remarks by recorded video.

Among the first to say goodbye Wednesday were Jose Romero Cooper and Mark Cooper. The married couple waited in line before doors opened to the public.

“What I’m gonna say is: ‘Thank you for everything, for being strong,’” said Romero Cooper, 61, a scarf of the American flag draped around his neck.

He stood before the casket, genuflected and crossed himself, then walked away with tears streaming down his face.

___

This story has been corrected to show that Feinstein died Friday, not Thursday.

——

AP researcher Randy Herschaft in New York contributed to this report.

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The body of U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein is placed at City Hall where it will lie in state, Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023, in San Francisco. Feinstein, who died Sept. 29, served as San Francisco’s mayor. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Mourners bearing bouquets and cards paid their respects Wednesday to the late U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein in San Francisco City Hall, where she launched her groundbreaking political career and spent a decade as the city’s first female mayor.

Musicians played the violin and other string instruments as a steady line of people snaked into the City Hall rotunda, where her casket was on display behind velvet ropes. People brought flowers that were later whisked away by staff, stood for a few seconds in contemplation or squeezed back tears before moving on to a side room to sign condolence books.

Former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, also of San Francisco, was among the officials in attendance. Feinstein died Thursday at her Washington, D.C., home after a series of illnesses.

Jose Romero Cooper, 61, and 73-year-old Mark Cooper were among the first to say goodbye, waiting in line before doors were open to the public. The married couple said they had followed Feinstein’s career with pride as she went from mayor of the politically liberal city to the U.S. Senate.

“What I’m gonna say is: ‘Thank you for everything, for being strong,’” said Jose Romero Cooper, a scarf of the American flag draped around his neck.

He stood before the casket, genuflected and crossed himself, then walked away with tears streaming down his face.

Feinstein was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1969 and was board president in November 1978 when a former supervisor assassinated Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk, the city’s first openly gay supervisor, at City Hall. Feinstein became acting mayor, and she went on to serve as mayor until 1988.

San Francisco would not be San Francisco without her. She steered the city through the HIV and AIDS crisis, bringing attention to an epidemic ignored by President Ronald Reagan. She also secured federal and private funding to save the city’s iconic cable cars from death by deterioration.

Feinstein led the city as it played host to the Democratic National Convention in 1984. Another San Francisco tradition — “Fleet Week” — was started by Feinstein in 1981, and this year’s annual celebration of air shows, naval ships and military bands is dedicated to her.

Beyond serving as San Francisco’s first female mayor, she joined Barbara Boxer as the first women to represent California in the U.S. Senate. They both won election in 1992, dubbed the “ Year of the Woman. ”

Feinstein inspired countless girls and women, including San Francisco Mayor London Breed, who is the first Black woman and only the second woman to lead the city. Breed recalled looking up to Feinstein when Feinstein was mayor and Breed played the French horn in the middle school band that played regularly at mayoral events.

“She was so proud of us and she said so, and she took the time to talk to us, express how amazing we were and to remind us that we were her band,” Breed said at a news conference the day after the senator’s death.

Cari Donovan placed a bouquet of lilies and daisies in red and pink before the casket.

“I’m a San Francisco native. And I remember her being such a big public figure on my life. She championed and fought for the rights of so many people,” Donovan said, adding that she talked to her 28-year-old daughter about the battles Feinstein fought so that younger generations of women could dream bigger.

“She was a powerhouse,” she said. “She was a lioness.”

While Feinstein’s career sent her to Washington, she remained deeply involved in the affairs of San Francisco, the city where she was born and raised. She often called her successors — including Gov. Gavin Newsom — to complain about potholes or trash and to offer advice and encouragement.

John Konstin Sr., owner of John’s Grill, a favorite downtown tourist destination and watering hole for city politicians, recalled Feinstein ordering potholes filled, trees trimmed and ugly scaffolding brought down before San Francisco hosted the 1984 Democratic convention.

“She asked, ‘How long has this scaffolding been up?’ And my dad said maybe 10 years, and the next day it came down,” said Konstin, 59. “It was half a block of scaffolding.”

Feinstein’s favorite dish was the Petrale sole, he said. The restaurant, which was celebrating its 115th anniversary Wednesday with a free lunch and appearances by Breed and other politicians, will have flowers by Feinstein’s portrait.

Mourners can pay their respects at City Hall until 7 p.m.

A memorial service will be held Thursday outside City Hall. Speakers will include Pelosi, Breed, Vice President Kamala Harris and U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York. President Joe Biden will deliver remarks by recorded video.

___

Associated Press journalist Haven Daley in San Francisco and researcher Randy Herschaft in New York contributed to this report.

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The Standard’s Alex Mullaney answers a reader-submitted question about how much Salesforce pays to close down streets around Moscone Center for its Dreamforce conference.

Closing a city street for construction or a block party can cost money, time or both. And closing down a major thoroughfare in San Francisco for a megaconference is no different.

Just like a contractor reserving a section of curbside to park trucks or a community group throwing a block party, Salesforce works with City Hall to throw its annual Dreamforce conference at Moscone Center. That means working with city agencies to apply for permits and organize resources—just on a much larger scale.

Salesforce worked with San Francisco’s transportation agency, police department and the city-owned Moscone Center to throw its star-studded, three-day conference this week for 40,000 attendees. (Dreamforce is projected to generate $89.3 million for the city this year, according to San Francisco Travel’s Lori Lincoln.)

The event ended late Thursday, but Howard Street between Third and Fourth streets is still closed, and traffic is detoured through Sunday as workers deconstruct all the equipment used for the conference. So how much does it cost the city to keep traffic moving around Moscone Center when Dreamforce is in full effect? Here’s the breakdown:

While city department representatives said the cost for this year’s conference won’t be known for several weeks, figures from the 2019 edition are instructive. That year, 171,000 people registered to attend over 2,700 talks and workshops, according to the company. 

READ MORE: Dreamforce 2023: Is This the Tech Conference’s Last Time in San Francisco? 

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency played the biggest role, managing traffic control, street closures, detours, street signal changes and signage for the area around Moscone Center.

“Dreamforce pays SFMTA cost recovery measures for the application review, [parking control officers] deployments, traffic management plan review and any necessary work by SFMTA shops such as signal timing changes, restriping, no parking signage, etc.,” said Stephen Chun, the transportation agency’s spokesman.

Traffic management planning for detours is developed for Salesforce’s contractors, who provide the signage and handle installation, Chun added. Salesforce did not respond to a request for comment.

The Moscone Center was filled with thousands of people for Dreamforce in San Francisco on Tuesday. | Source: Justin Katigbak/The Standard

In 2019, labor costs for street closure expenses totaled almost $90,000, documents obtained by The Standard show. Parking control officers worked over 500 hours, traffic signal engineers and sign-makers logged 100 hours, and painters worked over 50 hours.

But that’s not the total cost of traffic control. San Francisco Police Department officers are also dispatched to key intersections during the conference. They also provide security for the conference. In 2019, the bill totaled $400,000, according to a heavily redacted invoice obtained by The Standard.

“For security reasons, we do not disclose the number of officers we deploy to events,” SFPD Sgt. Kathryn Winters said.

Salesforce paid the police department $233,000 for security, $160,000 for the traffic detail to work Howard Street and $7,000 to provide traffic control for an event.

Total cost of Dreamforce recouped by the city: $490,000.

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A Vallejo Police Department corporal goes over paperwork in his patrol car on May 7, 2008, in Vallejo. (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images)

A handyman who was left bloodied after he was beaten and choked by Vallejo police will receive $750,000 from the city, it was announced Friday.

The San Francisco Bay Area city agreed Thursday to settle a civil rights lawsuit filed by Carl Edwards over the 2017 incident, which was recorded by a witness and by a police officer’s body camera.

The lawsuit named the city, three police officers and a former officer.

An email seeking comment from the city after hours Friday wasn’t immediately returned.

Edwards was fixing his fence on July 30, 2017, when he was grabbed and tackled by officers, punched repeatedly in the head, kneed and twice placed in a now-banned neck hold that caused him to briefly pass out, said a statement from his attorney, Michael Haddad.

Edwards suffered a broken nose and a shoulder injury.

“I couldn’t believe it when all of a sudden I was being choked,” Edwards, 53, told the San Francisco Chronicle. “When I heard more sirens coming, I thought, ‘Thank God, these guys are going to tell these guys to back off.’ And they just jumped in.”

A neighbor had called police about a man shooting rocks with a slingshot at her two boys. But arriving police were told Edwards wasn’t the man and his clothing and description didn’t match those of the suspect, said his lawyer’s statement.

Edwards was charged with resisting arrest and other criminal counts. But after 14 months, the charges were dismissed by the Solano County district attorney for lack of evidence, the Chronicle said.

Edwards told the newspaper that he plans to leave the city soon.

“I’m moving. I gotta get out of here,” he said. “I’m gone.”

Last month, Vallejo’s City Council proclaimed a public safety emergency declaration allowing staff to bypass normal channels to push through police reforms. It also passed a broader reform proposal.

The city of 120,000 people faces “a crisis of legitimacy and trust” that demands emergency action, city spokeswoman Christina Lee said before the meeting.

Police face mounting criticism and fiscal liability over shootings and misconduct by officers. Two dozen federal civil rights cases and more than a dozen tort claims are pending that could cost the city $50 million as well as higher insurance premiums, Lee said.

In September, Vallejo agreed to pay $5.7 million to the family of a man who was shot and killed by an officer after he was pulled over for a minor traffic infraction. In June, 22-year-old Sean Monterrosa was shot and killed by the officer who thought he had a gun when he did not.

Earlier this year, the police chief announced he was launching an independent investigation after two people in the department said officers had their badges bent to mark on-duty killings.

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Walgreens has agreed to pay $230 million to settle a case brought by the city of San Francisco over the opioid crisis.

The settlement, announced Wednesday, comes months after a bank ruling in the case against Walgreens. Attorneys for the city of San Francisco had asked US District Judge Charles Breyer of the Northern District of California for $8.1 billion in damages – an amount that Walgreens called “completely excessive” – ​​but both sides held back initiate a compensation process settlement talks.

Prosecutor David Chiu said at a news conference Wednesday that San Francisco received more than $350 million from opioid defendants including the Walgreens settlement.

“They were more concerned with profit than compliance with their legal obligations,” Chiu said. “There is no amount of money that can bring back the lives we have lost to this epidemic. But the only thing we can do as lawyers is fight for justice and make sure those who do harm are held accountable.”

Other opioid companies that have reached an agreement with the City of San Francisco include manufacturing companies Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. and Allergan of AbbVie Inc., both of whom walked out of the San Francisco trial for $54 million, and Endo Health Solutions, which paid $10 million in the previous trial.

In a statement, Walgreens denied liability and said there was no fault as against.

“We have not manufactured or marketed opioids, nor have we distributed them to ‘pill factories’ and internet pharmacies,” the statement said. “The comparison allows us to focus on our mission to transform healthcare and the well-being of our patients, customers and communities.”

“Above the Waterline”

Attorneys for the San Francisco Attorney’s Office hired seven outside law firms in the case, including Assistant Trial Attorney Richard Heimann of Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein in San Francisco; Aelish Baig, San Francisco partner at Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd; Jayne Conroy from Simmons Hanly Conroy of New York; and Peter Mougey of Levin Papantonio Rafferty Proctor Buchanan O’Brien Barr Mougey in Pensacola, Florida.

“You were the outstanding face of this case,” Lieff Cabraser’s Elizabeth Cabraser said of the outside legal team at Wednesday’s news conference. “We won a litigation victory, the first of its kind, in opioid litigation nationally, and it enabled us to negotiate a settlement that will bring much-needed funds and resources to San Francisco faster and faster than the national settlements.”

Elizabeth Cabraser, Lieff, Cabraser, Heimann & Bernstein (Photo: Jason Doiy/ALM)

Last year, Walgreens agreed to pay around $5 billion to several states and Native American tribes that had opioid lawsuits.

Walgreens is one of several dispensaries targeted for their role in providing excessive amounts of opioids, which are prescription pain relievers, in communities. Breyer, of the Northern County of California, found in his Aug. 10 court ruling that Walgreens had failed federal opioid prescription due diligence requirements for 15 years, leading to illegal drug use in San Francisco.

The lawsuit is one of many for Walgreens. In one of the first landmark lawsuits, a Cleveland jury returned verdicts in 2021 against Walgreens, Walmart and CVS and for two counties in Ohio, Trumbull County and Lake County. Last year, the three pharmacies appealed a $650 million damages claim that, if extrapolated across all opioid cases, would cost them nearly $500 billion in public health costs. The US Circuit Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has not yet scheduled hearings in this case.

Last year, Walgreens settled a case against the state of New Mexico and paid $683 million to settle a lawsuit brought by the state of Florida.

Minnesota: “A Clear Message”

Separately, Attorney General Keith Ellison on Wednesday announced the value of Minnesota’s previously announced settlement with Juul and Altria: $60.5 million.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison speaks at the University of Miami School of Law. Photo: Jenny Abreu

The settlement, which includes $8.6 million in legal fees and attorney fees, including for outside attorneys Robins Kaplan and Zimmerman Reed, is the largest per capita of any of the 48 states and U.S. territories that make up the Minnesota Attorney General, according to the Minnesota Attorney General have agreed with Juul office. Under the terms of the agreement, both companies will make payments over a period of eight years, starting at $22.75 million over 30 days.

Juul last year paid an estimated $1.7 billion to settle thousands of lawsuits brought by cities, counties, Native American tribes, school districts and states over its electronic cigarettes. Juul also agreed last month to pay $462 million to six states and the District of Columbia.

Altria, which owns a 35% stake in Juul, settled $235 million in a lawsuit against the San Francisco Unified School District this month. The comparison excludes cases from the states of Hawaii, Alaska and New Mexico.

The state of Minnesota began the state’s first trial over Juul’s e-cigarettes on March 28, but settled a confidential sum just before jury deliberations began last month.

“As we did in the Big Tobacco litigation 25 years ago, Minnesotans have again demonstrated their leadership by being the first and so far only state in the country to bring Juul and Altria to justice,” Ellison said. “This settlement, which is the largest of its kind in the country, also sends a clear message: We will not tolerate the marketing of nicotine products to children and adolescents in Minnesota and will hold you accountable if you do so.”

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May 22, 2023

Employment services platform Handy Technologies Inc. agreed to pay $6 million to resolve allegations it misclassified workers as independent contractors under California’s AB 5 law. The San Francisco and Los Angeles district attorneys announced the settlement May 18.

“This settlement is not only a victory for California workers who have been misclassified by Handy Technologies Inc., but also a warning to other companies engaged in similar illegal conduct,” said San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins. in a statement.

Prosecutors originally filed the lawsuit in 2021.

Handy dispatches employees to provide cleaning and handyman services at customers’ homes. In addition to the refund, the company agreed to a permanent injunction to avoid future misclassifications. Prosecutors said the company made significant changes to its business operations. For example, workers can now set their own hourly wages on the site and, after filling a position, contact clients directly to learn more about the requested services and negotiate terms such as hours and pay without being contractually bound to perform the work or get fined by Handy for turning down the job.

“This ruling is a long-awaited triumph for workers who have been wrongfully treated as independent contractors and deprived of their right to health care, paid vacation time and unemployment insurance,” Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón said in a statement.

The $6 million settlement includes $4.8 million in workers’ compensation and a $1.2 million civil penalty. There are about 25,000 workers who worked between March 2017 and May 2023.

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