The COVID-19 pandemic temporarily slowed or halted the claims process in many situations as courtrooms closed their doors to comply with social distancing requirements. However, CRC continued to assist partners across the country and came to the aid of a medical imaging center that found itself named as a defendant in a 2020 EPL lawsuit.

Wage and Hour (W&H) exposure is an often misunderstood and frequently underinsured risk. It is commonly — and incorrectly — assumed that W&H claims are restricted to either misclassification of exempt/nonexempt employment status or failure to pay overtime. However, W&H liability also includes allegations such as underpayment of overtime, miscalculation of wages, refusal to allow employee breaks, expecting off-the-clock work, not paying employees regularly, refusal to pay exempt employees for absences, not paying for time required to put on or remove protective gear or clothing, and only adhering to federal minimum wage guidelines when state guidelines warrant higher pay.

The scope of a common exclusion in Employment Practices Liability Insurance (EPLI) policies relating to “wage-and- hour and overtime law(s)” is narrower than a trial court found and therefore EPLI coverage can apply to a wider set of employment claims, according to the California Court of Appeal in the 4th Appellate District.

Wage and hour (W&H) exposure is an often misunderstood and frequently underinsured risk. Naturally, a business seeking protection from the catastrophic exposure of W&H violations may look into purchasing Employment Practices Liability (EPL) insurance. However, to their dismay, W&H violations are largely excluded in EPL policies.