EPLI Comes into Play When Employees Sue Employers

What You Need To Know About Discrimination Claims And How Employment Practice Liability Insurance Can Help

Your employees can be, and should be, your most important asset. Often, they are the front line of customer services. They solve problems, sell your products and services, and represent your business to your customers and prospects. Managing employees can be rewarding and challenging at the same time. Employees are very aware of their rights and your responsibilities; which should lead you to be professional, kind and follow the law as you relate to your employees.

Employment Practice Liability Insurance is a product that many businesses buy to protect themselves from litigation. A recent article in the Insurance Journal points out that while employment claims are down; claims involving retaliation are at an all-time high.

The following are the top 10 categories of charges filed with the EEOC:

• Retaliation under all statutes: 37,955 (42.8 percent of all charges filed)
• Race (including racial harassment): 31,073 (35 percent)
• Sex (including pregnancy and sexual harassment): 26,027 (29.3 percent)
• Disability: 25,369 (28.6 percent)
• Age: 20,588 (23.2 percent)
• National Origin: 9,579 (10.8 percent)
• Religion: 3,549 (4.0 percent)
• Color: 2,756 (3.1 percent)
• Equal Pay Act: 938 (1.1 percent) But note that sex-based wage discrimination can also be charged under Title VII’s sex discrimination provision
• Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act: 333 (0.4 percent)

Employment Practice Liability Insurance otherwise known as EPLI is insurance that helps protect you against claims from your employees that result from the general conduct of your business. Common examples of employee related claims include claims relating to:

• Discrimination
• Wrongful Discharge
• Sexual Harassment
• Hostile Working Environment
• Wrongful Termination
• Lack of Advancement

How To Reduce The Possibility Of Employment Claims

This is not a complete list, but is considered a start to developing solid human resource policies.

• Create an employee handbook
• Have a clear anti-discrimination policy
• Document conversations
• Complete annual employee reviews

Delivering Bottom Line Results for Businesses

Whether it is general liability, workers compensation coverage, employee health benefits or business property protection, getting the right combination of insurance coverage at the most competitive rates can make a significant difference in your bottom line.

At Leap / Carpenter / Kemps, Merced County’s largest locally-owned agency, we have an experienced staff of professionals who understand that each business is unique and that the one-size-fits-all approach just doesn’t work. Our agents have access to more carriers and more plans, and that means that they have more options to create the best possible combination of coverage to minimize your risks and lower your costs.