by Kami Jones, AU, AINS - Wexford Insurance - Greenwood, IN
If you have employees, chances are you will need employment practices liability insurance (EPL). The number of employment related claims are on the rise and the costs associated with those claims can be very high. Employers can find themselves in a lawsuit over several employment related incidents, even if it wasn’t their fault in the first place. Employment practices liability insurance is put into place to help cover the costs and protect the business and their assets if they were to get sued from those employment related incidents.
Typical employment practices liability insurance covers acts of:
Discrimination
Retaliation
Harassment
Wrongful discipline
Wrongful termination
Wrongful failure to promote
Violation of the Family and Medical Leave Act
Breach of employment contract
Mismanagement of employee benefit plans
Sometimes employment practices liability insurance is included in package policies such as the Business Owner Policy or the Commercial Package Policy. However, the EPL limits and coverage can be insufficient because this is looked at as a thrown in coverage for most policies. We would recommend getting a separate stand-alone EPL policy because the coverage will be tailored specifically for you at the coverage limits you need.
Ways to proactively help protect your business against EPL claims:
Create screening and hiring processes that help to avoid discrimination while hiring.
Make the policies for which you guide your business known to everyone in the workplace by posting them around the office and put them in employee handbooks.
Provide a process for employees to use if they become harassed or discriminated by someone in the workplace. Also, make it clear to your workers where the company stands on harassment or discrimination and what punishment will happen if they are found guilty of those acts.
Make sure to document everything that gets brought to the employer’s attention and the action steps the company will take to resolve the issues.
Feel free to use Wexford Insurance as a resource for your Employment Practices Liability Insurance needs. If we cannot help you, we will point you in the direction of someone who can.