Top 10 Workplace Discrimination Claims in 2015

Workplace discrimination is no joke and can leave businesses in dire circumstances they never saw themselves being in. Employment practices liability insurance (EPLI) can provide protection against many kinds of employee lawsuits, including claims of sexual harassment, discrimination, wrongful termination and breach of employment contract. Let’s take a look at the top 10 workplace discrimination claims and hopefully this information can protect you and your employees.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released breakdowns of the 89,385 charges of workplace discrimination that the agency received in fiscal year 2015. The agency filed 142 merits lawsuits last year, up from 133 the previous year. The majority of the lawsuits filed alleged violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, followed by suits under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This included 100 individual lawsuits and 42 lawsuits involving multiple victims of discriminatory policies. EEOC lawyers resolved 155 lawsuits alleging discrimination.

The charge numbers show the following breakdowns by bases alleged:

1. Retaliation: 39,757 (44.5% of all charges filed)
2. Race: 31,027 (34.7%)
3. Disability: 26,968 (30.2%)
4. Sex: 26,396 (29.5%)
5. Age: 20,144 (22.5%)
6. National Origin: 9,438 (10.6%)
7. Religion: 3,502 (3.9%)
8. Color: 2,833 (3.2%)
9. Equal Pay Act: 973 (1.1%)
10. Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act: 257 (0.3%)

*The percentages add up to more than 100 because some charges allege multiple bases.

Although discrimination in the workplace is something a business would never want to even imagine happening, a well-designed employment practices liability insurance (EPLI) policy can give a company some ease if anything were to ever take place. Get a free quote from BBIMI today!

(via Insurance Journal)