EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES LIABILITY
Employment related lawsuits continue to increase. Over the past five years, the total number of EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission / EEOC.gov) charges handled on an annual basis has grown from 75,768 in 2006 to 99,922 in 2010 the highest number of charges for any year on record. That represents an increase in the annual number of charges of almost 32% over the 5 year period. Add to that the hundreds of thousands of employment claims filed with state and local agencies and the numbers are staggering. The total amount recovered through all EEOC enforcement actions was $376 million in 2009, an all time high.
The highest number of charges in 2010 were for race discrimination 35.9%, retaliation 36.3% and sex based allegations 29.1%. In fact, the EEOC statistics show that retaliation claims reached an all time high in 2010, increasing as a percentage of overall charges in almost every year since 1997. Another area of concern is the increase in class action activity targeting health care related businesses. These actions have involved employee misclassification and uncompensated work. A 2008 class action against a California based health plan alleging misclassification and failure to pay overtime resulted in a $5.4 million settlement.
In today's increasing litigious society, companies and non-profit organizations can ill afford to be without coverage. Employment Practices Liability (EPL) coverage is a critical tool to protect your insureds for the potentially catastrophic costs of employment litigation. Even an organization with good Human Resources policies and procedures can and will be sued. A company with appropriate employment practices is in an excellent position to defend itself in the event of employment litigation, but the cost of mounting a defense can be enormous. It is not uncommon for legal fees associated with winning an employment lawsuit to exceed $250,000. Jury Verdict Research reports that the national jury-award median for employment practice liability cases was $326,000 in 2008, up 60 percent from 2007.
CIS provides primary EPL coverage on Travelers Wrap+® policy, underwritten by Travelers Casualty and Surety Company of America, an issuing company of Travelers. Employment Practices Liability provides coverage for defense costs and damages related to various employment related claims, including allegations of wrongful termination, discrimination, workplace harassment and retaliation deriving from the employer-employee relationship. Optional third party wrongful acts coverage is available. Also included is Travelers Risk Management PLUSsm online support system and unlimited access to employment attorneys.
"Nothing stated herein affects the terms, condition and coverages of any insurance policy or bond issued by any of the referenced insurers, nor does it imply that coverage does or does not exist for any particular claim or type of claim under any such policy or bond."
Coverage underwritten by Travelers Casualty and Surety Company of America and its property casualty affiliates, Hartford, CT 06183