Believe It Or Not…Employers Do Get Sued By Employees

What you need to know about discrimination claims
Your employees can be, and should be, your most important asset. Often, they are the front line of customer services. They solve problems, sell your products and services, and represent your business to your customers and prospects. Managing employees can be rewarding and challenging at the same time. Employees are very aware of their rights and your responsibilities; which should lead you to be professional, kind and follow the law as you relate to your employees.
Employment Practice Liability Insurance is a product that many businesses buy to protect themselves from litigation. A recent article in the Insurance Journal points out that while employment claims are down; claims involving retaliation are at an all-time high.
The following are the top 10 categories of charges filed with the EEOC:

• Retaliation under all statutes: 37,955 (42.8 percent of all charges filed)
• Race (including racial harassment): 31,073 (35 percent)
• Sex (including pregnancy and sexual harassment): 26,027 (29.3 percent)
• Disability: 25,369 (28.6 percent)
• Age: 20,588 (23.2 percent)
• National Origin: 9,579 (10.8 percent)
• Religion: 3,549 (4.0 percent)
• Color: 2,756 (3.1 percent)
• Equal Pay Act: 938 (1.1 percent) But note that sex-based wage discrimination can also be charged under Title VII’s sex discrimination provision
• Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act: 333 (0.4 percent)

How To Reduce The Possibility Of Employment Claims
This is not a complete list, but is considered a start to developing solid human resource policies.

• Create an employee handbook
• Have a clear anti-discrimination policy
• Document conversations
• Complete annual employee reviews

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