Employment practices lawsuits are on the rise. Consider the following:

 

• The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission received of 65,000 charges of alleged sexual and race-based discrimination, representing nearly two-thirds of the agency’s private sector charges and a 20% increase over the past 3 years.

 

• Almost 3/4 of all lawsuits against companies today involve employment disputes.

 

• In 2010, the EEOC received 99,922 private sector discrimination charges.

 

• According to jury verdict research, the median award for all discrimination claims is up to $317,000, a 46% increase from the past year.

 

• In 2009, employers lost 58% of employment lawsuits.

 

Employees can file a claim at any time, and for any reason…founded or not. You may feel you have solid HR policies and experienced, talented management. That won’t necessarily keep a disgruntled employee from filing a lawsuit. And that’s why coverage through Employment Practices Liability Insurance is so important. It provides protection against claims made by current and past employees as well as potential employees. It covers discrimination (age, sex, race, disability, etc.), wrongful termination of employment, sexual harassment, and other employment-related allegations.

 

Premiums depend on a range of factors including number of employees, turnover rate, prior employment lawsuits, and the state of your employee handbook and corporate employment policies. Practices as basic as regular performance reviews, accurate and complete employee files and zero-tolerance policies toward discrimination, harassment and substance abuse can go a long way toward reducing premiums…which remain well within reasonable levels for most employers.

 

Can you afford not to protect your company? Talk with the experienced agents at the Cushman Insurance Group for a no-obligation quote.