Now more than ever, organizations need to review their employment related policies and procedures. Our companies can obtain Employment Practices Liability Insurance (EPLI) that includes the most comprehensive employment practices risk management services available in the market place. These services can help an organization manage employment related exposures and stay current with changes in laws and regulations. An Insured would have access to top law firms, current employment information, policies, training and expert advice.
Recent changes in New York indicate a trend that may continue in other states in response to the #MeToo and #TimesUpNow movements. On April 12, 2018, New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the “Budget Bill “into law. The budget bill requires that employers abide by new measures involving sexual harassment in the workplace. A summary of some of these measures are as follows:
- Employers must conduct interactive sexual harassment training for their employees every year;
- Employers must follow the model sexual harassment policy standards that will be provided by the New York Department of Labor and the New York State Division of Human Rights;
- The new measures expand the rights of third party participants in the workplace (non-employees such as consultants and other people providing services pursuant to a contract in the employer’s workplace) to protect them from sexual harassment;
- The use of confidential settlement for any lawsuit to recover damages for sexual harassment is prohibited. Contractual provisions that mandate arbitration for any allegations or claims of sexual harassment are prohibited unless part of a collective bargaining agreement;
- Prevent tax payer’s funds from being used to pay sexual harassment settlements, any state employee responsible for committing sexual harassment must reimburse any state agency or public entity- funded damage award payments;
- Those bidding on a New York state contract must certify that they have implemented a written sexual harassment policy and annual training to all employees;
Jencap’s stable of companies can help your client be prepared by securing an EPLI policy with an insurance carrier who can provide the necessary risk management services needed to address today’s employment litigation trends.
