This is a Good Time to Reconsider EPL Coverage for Your Business.
EPL coverage has been available since the 1980’s in various forms insuring a subset of risks associated with employee initiated wrongful termination, retaliation, and other employment related risks. In the last few years, the exposure for employers in these types of cases has experienced the same social inflation as in other litigation categories. The following holdings have aptly demonstrated the growing risk of “nuclear” verdicts in an area that was normally seen as free from the wild swings in bodily injury tort-based claims.
There are four recent case results, one in Washington, which highlight the wisdom of purchasing EPL insurance from your broker as a new product or as an adjunct to your current insurance program.
Branson v. Washington Fine Wine & Spirits (Sept. 4, 2025)
The Washington Supreme Court interpreted “job applicant” under the Equal Pay and Opportunities Act (EPOA) broadly—claimants need not be bona fide applicants, merely individuals who applied.
This dramatically expands employer liability in Washington for wage‑and‑benefit transparency violations.
Employers using EPLI may see increased claim volume, especially from mass‑filing plaintiffs targeting job postings that omit salary ranges or benefit descriptions.
Mastercard Pay Discrimination Settlement (Jan 2025)
Allegations: Systemic underpayment of women and minority employees.
Settlement: $26 million plus mandated independent pay‑equity audits.
Smithfield Foods Child Labor Settlement (Nov 2024)
Allegations: Hazardous work performed by minors aged 14–17.
Settlement: $2 million, with monitoring obligations.
Zurich American Insurance Company Verdict (Apr 2024)
Allegations: Wrongful termination & defamation.
Verdict: $80.25 million—one of the largest EPL jury verdicts in recent years.
In addition to these examples from recent cases, an additional factor is artificial intelligence. AI is impacting all facets of our society, including litigation and risk management. A common use of AI to screen resumes has gained the attention of the EEOC which has identified AI as an enforcement priority due to risk of algorithmic discrimination.
Employment practices claims have normally posed high-frequency but low-severity risk exposures for most businesses. As a result of social inflation (a/k/a runaway juries/verdicts), first seen in the bodily injury context, the necessity of managing and reassessing the risk of employment practices claims is becoming critical to long term business success. This new litigation reality requires the vigilant employer, large or small, to make an honest appraisal of its risk profile and transfer this risk to an insurance product tailored for the type and magnitude of employment practices.