EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES LIABILITY
8 TRENDS
AFFECTING EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES LIABILITY
BY : JORDAN KURKOWSKI , RPLU , ASLI , MLIS , VICE PRESIDENT AND PROFESSIONAL LINES BROKER , AMWINS BROKERAGE
1 . COVID-19 . The pandemic has had a massive impact on employees and human resources departments across the country . We are now experiencing a record number of layoffs , furloughs , unemployment , and underemployment . There are also more employees working remotely , which creates a different set of risk management concerns . While we are very early in the process and there are not many facts , figures , or statistics pertaining to impacts on the EPL insurance market , there are common trends surfacing including the following :
• Discrimination or harassment claims resulting from unfair targeting of employees during furloughs / layoffs due to race , sex , or nation of origin .
• Invasion of privacy concerns arising from employees being questioned about personal travel or their family ’ s health history , including exposure to the virus .
• Disability discrimination ( ADA ) claims arising if proper accommodations are not provided to employees while working from home or employees are not given the option to work remotely .
• Negligent evaluation claims resulting from management asking employees to return to the office too soon .
2 . BLACK LIVES MATTER .
Since the first landmark case involving the restaurant chain Denny ’ s in 1994 , race and discrimination have been a driving factor of EPL loss trends . On May 25 , 2020 , George Floyd died in police custody in Minneapolis , Minnesota . The subsequent protests , media coverage ,
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