Not all lawsuits come from outside of your organization. Employment practices liability insurance (EPLI) covers lawsuits brought on by current, former, or even prospective employees. Protecting your business means safeguarding against all risks you may face, including allegations of harassment, discrimination, wrongful termination, or other employee initiated lawsuits.
Employment Practices Liability Coverage Examples
Employment related "wrongful acts" that are most commonly covered under employment practices liability insurance include claims such as:
- Discrimination based on gender, religion, age, race, or other factors
- Breach of employment contracts
- Wrongful termination
- Harassment
- Invasion of privacy
- Emotional or mental distress
- Slander or libel
- Wrongful demotion or discipline
- Failure to promote
- Deprivation of a career opportunity
Many of these allegations can be hard to prove in court. Employment practices liability coverage is there to provide your business with coverage for defense and indemnity in the event an employee alleges employer misconduct.
How Employment Practices Liability Works
If your business faces an employment related allegation, employment practices liability insurance may cover the legal costs to defend the claim including lawyer's fees, court costs, settlements, or judgements.
Employee practices liability insurance is written on a claims-made basis, meaning your business must have coverage when the claim is made to be covered. It is important to continually renew this type of coverage so it always picks up coverage back to the original retroactive date when coverage was originally written.
In addition to the "wrongful acts" mentioned earlier, EPLI can also provide specialized coverages for:
- Wage Hour Defense
- Immigration Defense
- Third Party Coverage
- Privacy Coverage
- Social Media and Cyber Bullying Coverage
- Independent Contractors
Employee practices liability insurance does not cover bodily injury, property damage, and intentional or dishonest acts
Being named in an employee related lawsuit is costly. With employment practices liability, you can transfer this risk to your EPLI insurance carrier as part of your overall business risk management strategy.
Beach & O’Neill Insurance Associates can help you protect your business from the exposures of employment practices. With our knowledge of real-life claims scenarios, we can give you examples of how this coverage has helped other clients, and define how this coverage can benefit you. Let us help you decide on whether this coverage is right for you.