Sexual Harassment, Descrimination and EPL Insurance

Employment Practices Liability Insurance, also known as EPL insurance or EPLI, is necessary for businesses of any size. Whether your business is large or small, if you have employees, you run the risk of one of those employees suing the company.When this happens, not only is it an inconvenienced and a distraction from your day-to-day duties, but the costs of defending yourself can be exorbitant. Even your and your employees' morale can be impacted. Losing time and money takes away from the company's productivity.EPLI insurance can help protect you from these distractions. Below, we have outlined the four most common reasons employees will sue their employers:

Sexual Harassment

EPL Insurance is probably better known to consumers as sexual harassment insurance. Sexual harassment claims in the workplace have been on the rise in recent decades. Sexual harassment comes in many forms, and it’s nearly impossible for an employer to fully protect itself. That’s where EPL Insurance comes in.

Running Background Checks Illegally

Often, background checks are required as part of the hiring process for companies. The background check must comply with regulations that have been established by the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Also, your company must be in compliance with any state laws that are applicable to background checks. The background checks have to be run for each potential employee and companies are not allowed to run background checks for only select individuals. If a credit check is part of the hiring process, the applicant must be made aware in writing that the results of the credit check will impact the hiring process, and furthermore must give written consent to follow through with the credit report.

EPL Insurance and Pregnancy

The Pregnancy Discrimination Act was put in place in 1964. This act states that a pregnant person must be allowed to remain at work throughout a pregnancy as long as the person is still able to fully carry out the duties required of the job. Also, being pregnant cannot be held against any potential employees.

Genetic Discrimination

GINA (Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Information Act) prohibits any employers from being allowed to use genetic information to impact their hiring decisions. Furthermore, a company cannot request genetic information from a potential employee. When establishing a hiring procedure, it is important not to ask for an employee's family medical history because this can put your company at risk for being in violation of the laws.

What the Law Says about Unpaid Internships

New regulations and guidelines have been established that can determine if an intern would qualify as an official employee of the company. There are many factors, but mainly the internship must have an educational component and cannot be comparable to a job that another employee does. Also, it is important to make sure that there is no promise of a guaranteed job at the conclusion of the internship.While these are just the more common subjects for lawsuits against employers, the list is truly endless. It is also important to note that an EPL Insurance policy will protect you against non-employees who might bring a harassment or discrimination suit. For example, if an employee harasses a customer, this coverage will kick in.If you are interested in learning about how EPL Insurance can help your company, contact the experts at Brashears Insurance by calling (805)-564-7645, or for office locations, visit our website.You can find more information about different types of business insurance that may be able to better protect your company here.