Employment Practices Liability-is your organization covered?
So many businesses now have a human resource department, and for good reason. The laws regarding employees are ever changing, and there ought to be someone staying on top of the changes. Unfortunately even an organization with a great human resources department with strict policies and procedures can have a claim filed against them.
According to the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 2009 there were 93,000 charges filed for employment related lawsuits, and sadly these numbers are climbing higher each year. Coverage is available to protect you and your business under an Employment Practices Liability policy.
This policy will protect you against suits filed for a number of scenarios, such as wrongful termination, harassment, discrimination and more. So many business owners do not think they are at risk because they are a small, local ‘mom and pop’ business. However, over 40% of all Employment Practice claims are filed against private employers who have between fifteen and one hundred employees. Even organizations that have strong safeguards to protect their businesses like employee manuals, procedures and protocols still have the possibility of being sued.
Whether a suit filed against your business is false or without merit the cost of defending a claim can be enormous. Even if the claim is erroneous, employment practices liability provides defense costs for your business. Of course having an insurance policy will help to protect you in the event of a claim, but why not be proactive?
Clark Mortenson offers a seminar series for local businesses. Several of the seminars are targeted to Human Resource issues, FMLA, FSLA, Employee Handbooks, and much more. Be ready not only with an insurance policy to protect you in the event of a claim, but also putting the proper safeguards, controls and procedures in place to minimize the possibility of claims for your business.
Source: CNA Insurance and Travelers Insurance
