Employment Practices Liability

A growing area of concern for small businesses in Canada is Employment Practices Liability. From 1997 there have been over 300 cases, many of them with settlements over $50,000. EPL legal experts tell us less than 5% of cases end up in court or in front of a tribunal. For each case that results in a decision by a court or an administrative tribunal, there are many more cases that are settled with significant payments by employers. In some cases, senior management are facing personal liability for these exposures even if their company is insolvent.

Claims can arise from a variety of exposures, including discrimination (sex, sexual orientation, age, race, marital status, illness, physical appearance, religious beliefs, etc.), harassment, assault, demotion, defamation, loss of reputation, unfair dismissal and infliction of emotional distress at work. Employers face potential awards granted by both administrative tribunals and by courts of law.

Traditionally, EPL coverage has been hard to find unless offered on a Directors and Officers policy and usually with a substantial deductible. Recognizing the needs of these companies, we recommend EmPLoyrite – an Employment Practices Liability package specifically designed for businesses with up to 500 employees, who understand their EPL exposure but do not wish to purchase D&O insurance.

EmPLoyrite is ideal for companies involved in consulting services, engineering services, and healthcare services such as clinics and medical laboratories. EmPLoyrite is also ideal for your other clients operating in a variety of service and distribution industries.

Added Benefits

Not only will your clients receive broad coverage, there are also added benefits of being insured under our EmPLoyrite program. At competitive premiums equivalent to a few hours of an employment lawyer’s time, your clients will have access to a toll-free hotline for human resources, personnel and claims related questions, Rather than guess at the right course of action, your clients can pick up the phone and get immediate professional advice on the best course of action to follow. Early intervention coupled with claims handling expertise are time and money saving devices. Your clients can call our team of legal professionals even if he or she only has a suspicion that a future claim may be lurking based on lunchroom banter.

Your clients will also be entitled to receive a Human Resources Handbook template that will help managers fulfill their human resources responsibility effectively. This handbook addresses issues such as:

  • The employment relationship policy
  • Equal opportunity policy
  • Policy prohibiting sexual harassment
  • Family and medical leave policy (with summaries of Federal and Provincial rights)
  • Benefits policy
  • Standards of conduct
  • Conflicts of interest
  • Electronic communication policy
  • Other important HR concerns

This template will save your clients hours of work. Rather than build an employee handbook from scratch, they can simply tailor the template to suit their own needs.

These benefits, in addition to the coverage offered, make EmPLoyrite an attractive and easily affordable insurance solution for small companies.

Coverage Highlights

  • Available limits of $100,000 to $5,000,000
  • Coverage for Canadian and U.S. employees
  • Coverage for claims based on discrimination, harassment and unfair dismissal
  • Coverage for claims made by employees, former employees or applicants for employment
  • Third Party Coverage available – for claims made by customers
  • Coverage for claims based on increased severance payments for unfair dismissal due to an EPL violation
  • Coverage for Punitive Damages and Exemplary Damages
  • Access to a Toll-Free Hotline for human resources, personnel and claims related questions
  • Be entitled to receive a Human Resources Handbook template