Employment Practices Liability Insurance, or EPLI, helps protects employers from lawsuits filed by employees. The type of coverage needed depends on your business, number of employees, and various risk factors. This was previously thought to be a coverage needed for just larger corporations, but lawsuits against employers are now becoming less infrequent. So much so that many carriers are now offering an EPLI endorsement. You can also obtain EPLI as a standalone policy.
EPLI provides protection against many kinds of employee lawsuits, including claims of:
- Sexual harassment
- Discrimination
- Wrongful termination
- Breach of employment contract
- Negligent evaluation
- Failure to employ or promote
- Wrongful discipline
- Deprivation of career opportunity
- Wrongful infliction of emotional distress
- Mismanagement of employee benefit plans
The EPLI policy will reimburse your company against the costs of defending a lawsuit in court and for judgments and settlements. The policy covers legal costs, whether your company wins or loses the suit. Policies also typically do not pay for punitive damages or civil or criminal fines.