A poor economy not only hits business owners in the profit/loss area but it also creates added liability exposures. During a down turn in the economy, many employers have to downsize their number of employees. This opens the door for employment practice type liability claims. Wrongful termination claims for things such as age, race and sex discrimination are on the rise. Sadly, a number of these claims are false claims and cost employers thousand to defend themselves. However, with an insurance coverage called Employment Practices Liability (EPLI) you can protect your business from such incidents.
EPLI products will help defend you during these claims and pay for the expenses that result from them. A number of products even provide a hotline for employers to call and get advice on how best to handle a layoff or termination. They will even give you ideas on how to create an employee handbook and other employment related forms such as job applications and termination forms.
Hopefully the economy will rebound soon and as a result employers will start to hire again. Even though this would be a positive thing, there is still a liability exposure during this time of growth. Discrimination claims can still arise during the hiring process. EPLI will also protect employers from discrimination claims by individuals that were not hired, but claim discrimination during the interview process.
Whether it is a downturn or upturn in the economy, employment related claims can happen. Feel free to get in touch with a Fey Insurance Services representative to learn more about how to protect your business.
