Employment practices liability
Encyclopedia
Employment Practices Liability is an area of United States law that deals with wrongful termination
, sexual harassment
, discrimination
, invasion of privacy
, false imprisonment
, breach of contract
, emotional distress
, and wage and hour law violations.
Most commonly, employment practices liability
deals with laws and protections brought under Title VII
of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
, the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act
) of 1990, the Civil Rights Act of 1991
, ADEA (Age Discrimination in Employment Act
) of 1967, and Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). The Equal Opportunity Employment Commission (EEOC) interprets and enforces these laws.
A growing product on the insurance
markets is employment practices liability insurance
(EPL), a type of policy that business owners can buy to protect their organizations against employee suits for rights protected under acts above. More recently, with the expansion of privacy law
(s), employee privacy concerns have come to the fore as private employee data is stored electronically. This is not always covered under an EPL policy, but the insurance industry has responded by offering cyber liability and network security policies.
Importantly, there are both federal and state statutes that govern an employer's liability to its employees. Laws also differ from state to state; e.g., California, is often considered a pro-employee state when it comes to employers' liability.
Wrongful dismissal
Wrongful dismissal, also called wrongful termination or wrongful discharge, is an idiom and legal phrase, describing a situation in which an employee's contract of employment has been terminated by the employer in circumstances where the termination breaches one or more terms of the contract of...
, sexual harassment
Sexual harassment
Sexual harassment, is intimidation, bullying or coercion of a sexual nature, or the unwelcome or inappropriate promise of rewards in exchange for sexual favors. In some contexts or circumstances, sexual harassment is illegal. It includes a range of behavior from seemingly mild transgressions and...
, discrimination
Discrimination
Discrimination is the prejudicial treatment of an individual based on their membership in a certain group or category. It involves the actual behaviors towards groups such as excluding or restricting members of one group from opportunities that are available to another group. The term began to be...
, invasion of privacy
Invasion of privacy
United States privacy law embodies several different legal concepts. One is the invasion of privacy, a tort based in common law allowing an aggrieved party to bring a lawsuit against an individual who unlawfully intrudes into his or her private affairs, discloses his or her private information,...
, false imprisonment
False imprisonment
False imprisonment is a restraint of a person in a bounded area without justification or consent. False imprisonment is a common-law felony and a tort. It applies to private as well as governmental detention...
, breach of contract
Breach of contract
Breach of contract is a legal cause of action in which a binding agreement or bargained-for exchange is not honored by one or more of the parties to the contract by non-performance or interference with the other party's performance....
, emotional distress
Emotional distress
Mental distress or anxiety suffered as a response to a sudden, severe, and saddening experience.Emotional distress may refer to:* Law of torts:** Intentional infliction of emotional distress** Negligent infliction of emotional distress* Medicine:...
, and wage and hour law violations.
Most commonly, employment practices liability
Liability
A liability can mean something that is a hindrance or puts an individual or group at a disadvantage, or something that someone is responsible for, or something that increases the chance of something occurring ....
deals with laws and protections brought under Title VII
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a landmark piece of legislation in the United States that outlawed major forms of discrimination against African Americans and women, including racial segregation...
of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a landmark piece of legislation in the United States that outlawed major forms of discrimination against African Americans and women, including racial segregation...
, the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 is a law that was enacted by the U.S. Congress in 1990. It was signed into law on July 26, 1990, by President George H. W. Bush, and later amended with changes effective January 1, 2009....
) of 1990, the Civil Rights Act of 1991
Civil Rights Act of 1991
The Civil Rights Act of 1991 is a United States statute that was passed in response to a series of United States Supreme Court decisions which limited the rights of employees who had sued their employers for discrimination...
, ADEA (Age Discrimination in Employment Act
Age Discrimination in Employment Act
The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, Pub. L. No. 90-202Code, through , forbids employment discrimination against anyone at least 40 years of age in the United States .-Scope of Protection:...
) of 1967, and Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). The Equal Opportunity Employment Commission (EEOC) interprets and enforces these laws.
A growing product on the insurance
Insurance
In law and economics, insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer is a company selling the...
markets is employment practices liability insurance
Liability insurance
Liability insurance is a part of the general insurance system of risk financing to protect the purchaser from the risks of liabilities imposed by lawsuits and similar claims. It protects the insured in the event he or she is sued for claims that come within the coverage of the insurance policy...
(EPL), a type of policy that business owners can buy to protect their organizations against employee suits for rights protected under acts above. More recently, with the expansion of privacy law
Privacy law
Privacy law refers to the laws which deal with the regulation of personal information about individuals which can be collected by governments and other public as well as private organizations and its storage and use....
(s), employee privacy concerns have come to the fore as private employee data is stored electronically. This is not always covered under an EPL policy, but the insurance industry has responded by offering cyber liability and network security policies.
Importantly, there are both federal and state statutes that govern an employer's liability to its employees. Laws also differ from state to state; e.g., California, is often considered a pro-employee state when it comes to employers' liability.