There’s a relationship between the high unemployment numbers seen since the recession – and the big uptick in employee claims registered with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) against employers since 2007. During the decade between 1998 and 2007, employee claims averaged fewer than 80,000 per year. Since then, the average has jumped to more than 97,500 annually.
Employment-related charges that EPLI will generally cover
The listing below should give you a good idea of the very wide range in complaints that are brought to the EEOC every year. Virtually all of these can be written into a solid EPLI policy for your business. It’s critical that you work with your insurance professional to ensure that your policy covers the risks your business faces.
- Unlawful or wrongful termination or discipline
- Sexual harassment in the workplace
- Sexual discrimination
- Pregnancy discrimination
- Age, race, disability, sexual orientation, religious, national origin, and gender discrimination
- Negligent or unfair employment practices concerning compensation, promotion, and hiring
- Employment breach of contract
- Employee benefits mismanagement or denial
- Invasion of privacy
- Libel and slander
- Mental anguish and emotional distress
- Retaliation. It is illegal to fire, demote, harass, or otherwise “retaliate” against those who file a discrimination charge or have complained in any way about discrimination on the job.
- GINA. Title II of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 prohibits genetic information discrimination in employment. Employers are prohibited from using genetic information in making employment decisions, and they are restricted from requesting or requiring it.
Over the past 15 years, the most common complaint registered with the EEOC has been racial discrimination. Since 2010, however, retaliation charges have taken the No. 1 slot. (Individuals often file more than one charge in a formal filing.) In 2017, 33.9 percent of claims with the EEOC included a charge of racial discrimination; 38 percent included retaliation. The third most common charge in 2017 was sex discrimination, 30.4 percent of claims included some form of this.
