Employment Practices Liability
The policy for claims brought by your own staff. Wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment, retaliation and wage disputes. It is the most common uncovered loss in this book and one claim can exceed a year of revenue.
The claim that actually happens
A terminated injector files a claim
She was let go for performance. She alleges discrimination. Whether she is right is decided later and expensively. Defense costs start immediately and are payable whether or not the allegation has merit. Nothing in a professional liability policy responds to any part of it.
What it responds to
- Wrongful termination and constructive dismissal
- Discrimination and harassment claims
- Retaliation claims
- Wage and hour defense, on most forms
- Third party harassment by patients, where added
- Defense costs from the first letter
What people assume it covers, and it does not
- Injury to an employee, which is workers compensation
- Unpaid wages themselves, as opposed to the defense
- Claims arising before the policy started
Who usually does not have this
Most practices with two or more clinical staff. This class has high turnover, non-competes are common and frequently contested, and the claim usually arrives from somebody who left.