Employment Practices Liability Insurance

Employment Practices Liability Insurance

Employment Practices Liability Insurance

Many employers erroneously believe that they can prevent all instances of workplace harassment and discrimination and, therefore, may not need to carry employment practices liability insurance.  However, workplace discrimination can be very insidious and a business owner may not even be aware that harassment is occurring in the workplace.  This can be a problem with very small businesses, when personal differences with employees might appear to be based in discrimination, but it can also be a problem for large businesses that may not be able to supervise all employees and prevent discrimination.  Furthermore, not all employment practices claims are based on actual incidents, so that even exemplary workplaces are vulnerable to suit.  Employment Practices Liability Insurance can provide coverage against a wide variety of claims by employees and former employees, including: discrimination, sexual harassment, negligent hiring, wage disputes, and invasion of privacy claims.  Furthermore, many of the policies include defense coverage, which can save valuable resources that would otherwise have to be used to defend against these claims.  This can be critical because some claims may come from people with whom the employer has had only incidental contact, such as a job applicant, making it difficult for an employer to mount a defense without expert resources and investigation.