Answering the question above is pretty straight forward. If you have employees then you need employment practices liability coverage (EPL). EPL Insurance covers claims by employees, past employees and potential employees alleging that he or she was terminated due to discrimination (Age, Race, Gender, Disability, etc). Wrongful termination claims with regards to discrimination have increased dramatically over the past couple of years, and many employers think they are covered under their commercial general liability policy. Almost all general liability polices exclude employment practices liability claims, creating a gap in coverage. With out having the correct coverage in place the employer will be responsible for the financial burden of defending itself and damages to be paid.
As mentioned above EPL policies extend to not only former/current employees but potential employees as well. For example; A potential employee leaves an interview and finds out they were not hired. That potential employee decides to sue the employer on the grounds that he/she was not hired due to their age. In this example the EPL coverage would kick in and the company would be protected. Even if the alleged claim couldn’t be farther from the truth the employer still has to defend itself, which can be costly. Premium(s) for EPL insurance depend on the size of your company, industry, and the controls in place to prevent EPL claims.
