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You are here: Home / Archives for EPLI

July 15, 2014 By Insurance News Editor Leave a Comment

Reducing Lawsuit Exposure: Eleven Things Your Company Should Know

  1. Misc_CourtChairIt may be illegal for an employer to fire a worker to deprive him/her of large commissions, vested pension rights, a year end bonus or other expected financial benefits.
  2. It may be illegal for companies to fire workers who return to work after an illness, pregnancy or jury duty.
  3. It may be illegal to fire workers who complain about a safety violation or other wrongdoing.
  4. It may be illegal to fire a worker in a manner inconsistent with company handbooks, manuals, written contracts and disciplinary rules.
  5. It may be illegal to fire a worker who is over 40, belongs to a protected minority, or is a female, primarily because of such personal characteristics.
  6. It may be illegal to fire a worker who received a verbal promise of job security or other rights which the company failed to fulfill.
  7. It may be illegal to fire a long-term worker when the punishment does not fit the crime and other workers were not similarly treated.
  8. It may be illegal if an employer fails to act according to the terms of a written employment contract.
  9. Avoid firing workers for “job performance” who have received excellent performance reviews and appraisals and have been given copies of such performance reviews; never inflate performance evaluations for this reason.
  10. When possible, try to obtain an employee’s resignation rather than be fired. When workers resign they often waive claims to unemployment and other severance benefits.
  11. Confirm all severance arrangements in writing to document the final deal that has been made. Be sure a release is prepared and signed by the terminated worker to protect your company.

© Copyright 2018. All rights reserved. This content is strictly for informational purposes and although experts have prepared it, the reader should not substitute this information for professional insurance advice. If you have any questions, please consult your insurance professional before acting on any information presented. Read more.

Filed Under: Business, EPLI, Theme 78

July 15, 2014 By Insurance News Editor Leave a Comment

The Employment-At-Will Doctrine: Three Major Exceptions

Workers_Planning-HandsCloseupIn the United States, employees without a written employment contract generally can be fired for good cause, bad cause, or no cause at all; judicial exceptions to the rule seek to prevent wrongful terminations.

Click here to read the entire “Employment at Will” PDF.

Source: United States Department of Labor, “The employment-at-will doctrine: three major exceptions” http://www.bls.gov/ website. Accessed March 6, 2018 http://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2001/01/art1full.pdf

© Copyright 2018. All rights reserved. This content is strictly for informational purposes and although experts have prepared it, the reader should not substitute this information for professional insurance advice. If you have any questions, please consult your insurance professional before acting on any information presented. Read more.

Filed Under: Business, EPLI, Theme 78

July 15, 2014 By Insurance News Editor Leave a Comment

What Is Employment Practices Liability Insurance (EPLI)?

People_QuestionManEPLI covers businesses against claims by workers that their legal rights as employees of the company have been violated.

The number of lawsuits filed by employees against their employers has been rising. While most suits are filed against large corporations, no company is immune to such lawsuits. Recognizing that smaller companies now need this kind of protection, some insurers provide this coverage as an endorsement to their Businessowners Policy (BOP). An endorsement changes the terms and conditions of the policy. Other companies offer EPLI as a stand-alone coverage.

EPLI provides protection against many kinds of employee lawsuits, including claims of:

  • Sexual harassment
  • Discrimination
  • Wrongful termination
  • Breach of employment contract
  • Negligent evaluation
  • Failure to employ or promote
  • Wrongful discipline
  • Deprivation of career opportunity
  • Wrongful infliction of emotional distress
  • Mismanagement of employee benefit plans

The cost of EPLI coverage depends on your type of business, the number of employees you have and various risk factors such as whether your company has been sued over employment practices in the past. The policies will reimburse your company against the costs of defending a lawsuit in court and for judgments and settlements. The policy covers legal costs, whether your company wins or loses the suit. Policies also typically do not pay for punitive damages or civil or criminal fines. Liabilities covered by other insurance policies such as workers compensation are excluded from EPLI policies.

To prevent employee lawsuits, educate your managers and employees so that you minimize problems in the first place:

  • Create effective hiring and screening programs to avoid discrimination in hiring.
  • Post corporate policies throughout the workplace and place them in employee handbooks so policies are clear to everyone.
  • Show employees what steps to take if they are the object of sexual harassment or discrimination by a supervisor. Make sure supervisors know where the company stands on what behaviors are not permissible.
  • Document everything that occurs and the steps your company is taking to prevent and solve employee disputes.

Source: Insurance Information Institute, “What is employment practices liability insurance (EPLI)?” http://www.iii.org website. Accessed March 6, 2018. http://www.iii.org/article/what-employment-practices-liability-insurance-epli

© Copyright 2018. All rights reserved. This content is strictly for informational purposes and although experts have prepared it, the reader should not substitute this information for professional insurance advice. If you have any questions, please consult your insurance professional before acting on any information presented. Read more.

Filed Under: Business, EPLI, Theme 78

July 15, 2014 By Julian Aston Leave a Comment

IN: Eleven Things Your Company Should Know To Reduce Lawsuit Exposure

Dear Valued Customer,

The number of lawsuits filed by employees against their employers has been rising. In this issue of the “————————-” we focus on wrongful termination from the employer’s point of view.

What are the eleven things your company should know to reduce lawsuit exposure? You must do everything possible to avoid work-related lawsuits, but obtaining Employment Practices Liability Insurance (EPLI) to protect your business from workers who believe their legal rights as employees of the company have been violated is a vital backstop. Did you know that employment without a written agreement is terminable by either the employer or employee for any reason whatsoever?

Read this information and much more to see why layoffs have sparked a rise in wrongful termination lawsuits, and, most importantly, how you can add a layer of protection against this happening to you and your company.

We appreciate your continued business and look forward to serving you.

Kind regards,

Filed Under: Business, EPLI, Theme 78

July 4, 2014 By Julian Aston Leave a Comment

IN: Protect Yourself From Sexual Harassment In The Workplace

Dear Valued Customer,

In this issue of the “—————–” we focus on sexual harassment in the workplace.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission protects employees from being sexually harassed in the workplace. There are tens of thousands of charges filed every year, by both women and men. In just the last few years, companies had to pay out hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation, not including monetary benefits obtained through litigation.

Read on to learn how to protect yourself from sexual harassment at the workplace, how to deal with it in our social networking world, and why you might have us look into employment practices liability insurance for your company – before it’s too late.

We appreciate your continued business and look forward to serving you.

Kind regards,

Filed Under: Business, D&O/E&O, EPLI, Theme 52

July 4, 2014 By admin Leave a Comment

Sexual Harassment

Workers_BusinessPeopleAboveIt is unlawful to harass a person (an applicant or employee) because of that person’s sex. Harassment can include “sexual harassment” or unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical harassment of a sexual nature.

Harassment does not have to be of a sexual nature, however, and can include offensive remarks about a person’s sex. For example, it is illegal to harass a woman by making offensive comments about women in general.

Both victim and the harasser can be either a woman or a man, and the victim and harasser can be the same sex.

Although the law doesn’t prohibit simple teasing, offhand comments, or isolated incidents that are not very serious, harassment is illegal when it is so frequent or severe that it creates a hostile or offensive work environment or when it results in an adverse employment decision (such as the victim being fired or demoted).

The harasser can be the victim’s supervisor, a supervisor in another area, a co-worker, or someone who is not an employee of the employer, such as a client or customer.

 

Source: U.S. Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission, “Sexual Harassment.” http://www.eeoc.gov website. Accessed December 2, 2015. http://www.eeoc.gov/laws/types/sexual_harassment.cfm

© Copyright 2016. All rights reserved. This content is strictly for informational purposes and although experts have prepared it, the reader should not substitute this information for professional insurance advice. If you have any questions, please consult your insurance professional before acting on any information presented. Read more.

Filed Under: Business, D&O/E&O, EPLI, Theme 52

July 4, 2014 By admin Leave a Comment

Facts About Sexual Harassment

Workers_People_BusinessManOpeningDoorsSexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination that violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title VII applies to employers with 15 or more employees, including state and local governments. It also applies to employment agencies and to labor organizations, as well as to the federal government.

Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature constitute sexual harassment when this conduct explicitly or implicitly affects an individual’s employment, unreasonably interferes with an individual’s work performance, or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment.

Sexual harassment can occur in a variety of circumstances, including but not limited to the following:

  • The victim as well as the harasser may be a woman or a man. The victim does not have to be of the opposite sex.
  • The harasser can be the victim’s supervisor, an agent of the employer, a supervisor in another area, a co-worker, or a non-employee.
  • The victim does not have to be the person harassed but could be anyone affected by the offensive conduct.
  • Unlawful sexual harassment may occur without economic injury to or discharge of the victim.
  • The harasser’s conduct must be unwelcome.

It is helpful for the victim to inform the harasser directly that the conduct is unwelcome and must stop. The victim should use any employer complaint mechanism or grievance system available.

When investigating allegations of sexual harassment, EEOC looks at the whole record: the circumstances, such as the nature of the sexual advances, and the context in which the alleged incidents occurred. A determination on the allegations is made from the facts on a case-by-case basis.

Prevention is the best tool to eliminate sexual harassment in the workplace. Employers are encouraged to take steps necessary to prevent sexual harassment from occurring. They should clearly communicate to employees that sexual harassment will not be tolerated. They can do so by providing sexual harassment training to their employees and by establishing an effective complaint or grievance process and taking immediate and appropriate action when an employee complains.

It is also unlawful to retaliate against an individual for opposing employment practices that discriminate based on sex or for filing a discrimination charge, testifying, or participating in any way in an investigation, proceeding, or litigation under Title VII.

 

Source: U.S. Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission, “Facts About Sexual Harassment.” http://www.eeoc.gov website. Accessed December 2, 2015. http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/publications/fs-sex.cfm

© Copyright 2016. All rights reserved. This content is strictly for informational purposes and although experts have prepared it, the reader should not substitute this information for professional insurance advice. If you have any questions, please consult your insurance professional before acting on any information presented. Read more.

Filed Under: Business, D&O/E&O, EPLI, Theme 52

July 4, 2014 By admin Leave a Comment

What Is Employment Practices Liability Insurance (EPLI)?

Misc_QuestionMarkSignEPLI covers businesses against claims by workers that their legal rights as employees of the company have been violated.

The number of lawsuits filed by employees against their employers has been rising. While most suits are filed against large corporations, no company is immune to such lawsuits. Recognizing that smaller companies now need this kind of protection, some insurers provide this coverage as an endorsement to their Businessowners Policy (BOP). An endorsement changes the terms and conditions of the policy. Other companies offer EPLI as a stand-alone coverage.

EPLI provides protection against many kinds of employee lawsuits, including claims of:

  • Sexual harassment
  • Discrimination
  • Wrongful termination
  • Breach of employment contract
  • Negligent evaluation
  • Failure to employ or promote
  • Wrongful discipline
  • Deprivation of career opportunity
  • Wrongful infliction of emotional distress
  • Mismanagement of employee benefit plans

The cost of EPLI coverage depends on your type of business, the number of employees you have and various risk factors such as whether your company has been sued over employment practices in the past. The policies will reimburse your company against the costs of defending a lawsuit in court and for judgments and settlements. The policy covers legal costs, whether your company wins or loses the suit. Policies also typically do not pay for punitive damages or civil or criminal fines. Liabilities covered by other insurance policies such as workers compensation are excluded from EPLI policies.

To prevent employee lawsuits, educate your managers and employees so that you minimize problems in the first place:

  • Create effective hiring and screening programs to avoid discrimination in hiring.
  • Post corporate policies throughout the workplace and place them in employee handbooks so policies are clear to everyone.
  • Show employees what steps to take if they are the object of sexual harassment or discrimination by a supervisor. Make sure supervisors know where the company stands on what behaviors are not permissible.
  • Document everything that occurs and the steps your company is taking to prevent and solve employee disputes.

 

Source: Insurance Information Institute, “What is employment practices liability insurance (EPLI)?” http://www.iii.org website. Accessed December 2, 2015. http://www.iii.org/article/what-employment-practices-liability-insurance-epli

© Copyright 2016. All rights reserved. This content is strictly for informational purposes and although experts have prepared it, the reader should not substitute this information for professional insurance advice. If you have any questions, please consult your insurance professional before acting on any information presented. Read more.

Filed Under: Business, D&O/E&O, EPLI, Theme 52

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