Judge OKs bankrupt PG&E's plan for $235 million in bonuses

SAN FRANCISCO -- A federal judge has approved Pacific Gas & Electric Corp.'s plans to pay $235 million in employee bonuses this year, despite the California utility's bankruptcy and objections from lawyers of victims of the state's massive wildfires.

The Sacramento Bee reports that U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Dennis Montali approved the plan at a hearing Tuesday in San Francisco.

PG&E had said in a court filing that the money was intended to provide incentives to workers and would not be distributed if the company doesn't meet its safety and financial goals.

It said the bonus program was restructured with its Chapter 11 case in mind.

PG&E filed for bankruptcy in January in the face of billions of dollars in potential liability from huge wildfires in California in 2017 and 2018.