If you are a PEO client of BCN, your company is provided with employment practice liability insurance (EPLI), a benefit that may not be used every day, but is important nonetheless.
This specialized insurance is designed to protect against losses incurred in litigating and settling wrongful employment practices liability claims. It covers such things as discrimination, breach of contract and wrongful discharge suits, which usually are not covered by general business liability insurance.
In today’s business world, the threat of being sued is an everyday reality. The dangers are even more real if your company doesn’t’t have a dedicated human resources department or formal training to deal with myriad laws, rules and regulations that exist to protect employee rights.
Statistics show that in a bad economy employment lawsuits increase dramatically. One disgruntled worker can put your entire business at risk if he brings a lawsuit or discrimination charge against you — whether valid or not. The cost to defend the allegations alone could put your company out of business, not to mention the price you would pay if you lose.
Here are the top 5 reasons your company should have EPLI coverage:
- Employee lawsuits and discrimination charges are excluded under standard general liability policies;
- Every employer, large or small, can be the target of legal action from past, present, and prospective employees;
- Owners’, directors’ and officers’ personal assets can be at risk;
- Employees file more than 90,000 complaints each year with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission;
- Employees can easily file lawsuits, often with no risk or cost to them.
While you are responsible for deductibles and legal costs not covered by the policy, BCN Services has made it easier and cost efficient in 2013 to mitigate your expenses of a claim by negotiating an arrangement with our carrier to allow us to provide the initial investigative work to our clients on EPLI claims with our law firm’s oversight, saving significantly on legal expenses. To minimize claims, BCN’s trained and certified HR professionals will help guide you through employee relations and other compliance issues thereby greatly reducing your risk.
Remember to always report any incident which could give rise to a claim immediately to the BCN Human Resource Department by phone. For further information about EPLI, contact us at 800-891-9911 or contact us here.
Kate Douglass, Senior HR Generalist