Employer Practices Liability Insurance (EPLI)
Why a Company Needs Employer Practices
Liability Insurance (EPLI)
Employer Practices Liability Insurance, or EPLI, provides coverage against allegations including Discrimination, Harassment, Retaliation, Wrongful Termination and Improper Workplace Conduct.
The risks covered by EPLI are not picked up in other policies such as General Liability or Directors and Officers insurance. Many people make the incorrect assumption that amongst those policies there is coverage for such risks, that can become an expensive mistake.
According to Chubb’s 2018 Top Risks for Private Companies, more than one in four private companies reported experiencing an EPLI loss in the prior three years. The 2017 Hiscox Guide to Employee Lawsuits notes that 24% of employment charges resulted in defense and settlement costs averaging $160,000 and 318 days to resolve.
EPLI provides coverage against some of the most prevalent risks facing businesses today. The types of risks EPLI protects against should not be treated as an ‘if’ scenario, but a ‘when’.
What does EPLI cover?
This type of claim can take on many forms with race, sex and age discrimination amongst the most common. Other forms of discrimination can include disability, sexual orientation, religion and even pregnancy. This type of claim covers a lot of ground.
The most well-known form of harassment charge is sexual harassment. Other forms of harassment, such as abusive conduct leading to a hostile workplace, would also fall within these parameters.
Consider this a catch-all for incidences that can give rise to a claim. Conduct such as failure to promote, negligent evaluation, and deprivation of a career opportunity fall within these parameters.
If an employee believes that an employer is acting adversely against them due to actions the employee takes, that employee can make a claim of retaliation. Employee related actions that may lead to retaliation include submitting a complaint against an employer or reporting the actions of company leadership or other employees to regulators or authorities (whistleblowing).
This is the act of an employee claiming that their employment was terminated in violation of the law. Pretty straightforward.