Employers Professional Liability Insurance (EPLI)
It’s a mouthful, which is why we know it by its acronym “EPLI”.
And yet almost as big as the description is the coverage it affords employers.
The coverages alone sell this policy as employers can easily see themselves being sued for any one of these allegations. The costs of just defending even a baseless lawsuit can easily dips into six figures.
And it’s not hard to imagine. When company management takes any action whatsoever, there are disgruntled parties who can feel they were targeted, overlooked, not liked, deprived or stepped over.
(Statistics from Trusted Choice)
So, in a conventional EPLI policy, what are these protections? And who needs them?
The easy answer is every business that has at least one employee needs Employers Professional Liability.
How do you prove you acted appropriately against a hostile former employee? What did you say? What did you not say? If you have employees, how can you prove your employees acted professionally and appropriately amongst themselves?
The key here is “proving.” Even if you have always done everything 100% by the book, the cost of proving that you did, measured in time, cost and resources, in the end can cost or even ruin your business.
Everyone is familiar the terms so I will just lay out a few of the allegations that can possible fall under the description of EPLI. I will start with the most famous and follow with a few of the claims seen more and more in our litigious society:
Discrimination
Wrongful termination
Breach of contract
Negligent compensation
Negligent evaluation
Sexual Harassment
Hostile work environment
Failure to employ
Invasion of privacy
Failure to promote
Wrongful discipline
Emotional distress
Of course there are many more subsets of behavior that distinctly demonstrate the necessity for such coverage and protection for employers. Trends tell us that claims are going up and most organizations that are ahead of the curve and have purchased this coverage are buying more.
Still not convinced? Check out these trending EPLI claims:
- #MeToo movement results in increase of sexual harassment claims. LGBT based claims have steadily increased over the last 5 years.
- Gender Pay Gap is real. In 2018, Full-time salaried women earned 81% of what men were earning in the same year according the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- Marijuana Legalization impacts the workplace. Be sure to keep up with legislation in your state and create drug policies that focus on maintaining a safe workplace.
- COVID-19 has also caused an unprecedented disruption and strain in workplaces with employees missing more work than ever before.
It is generally recognized that an employer has an obligation to ensure its employees a safe work environment. The public has supported this and the Government has even defined what behaviors constitute violations, all the way down to what’s meant to be a simple yet obscene “joke.”
If you are an employer and do not have EPLI protection, Get it!
LEGAL DISCLAIMER
Views expressed here do not constitute legal advice. The information contained herein is for general guidance of matter only and not for the purpose of providing legal advice. Discussion of insurance policy language is descriptive only. Every policy has different policy language. Coverage afforded under any insurance policy issued is subject to individual policy terms and conditions. Please refer to your policy for the actual language.
