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When Does a 'Claim' Arise for Purposes of an Employment Practices Liability Insurance Policy?

By Caroline L. Marks and Christopher F. Cari'o

Many times a policyholder-employer can predict the potential for an employment-related claim long before that claim materializes into formal litigation. An employee, for example, may complain to a supervisor about an unlawful employment practice. She then may submit a written complaint to human resources. If that complaint does not get resolved to her satisfaction, the employee may file a complaint with an administrative agency, such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”), or have her attorney send a letter to the policyholder-employer. After exhausting her administrative remedies, the employee may file a lawsuit.

Employers insure against losses arising from certain employment-related claims by obtaining employment practices liability insurance (“EPLI”) policies. Critical to those policyholder-employers is the question of at what stage of the process, described above, must the insurers be placed on notice. The failure to give timely and proper notice, under certain circumstances, could result in the forfeiture of coverage. As will be explained below, the answer to this question often is controlled by the policy's definition of a “claim.” The definition, however, varies among different EPLI policies. In addition, the specific content of an employee's complaint can affect the answer. This article analyzes different trends in the law concerning what constitutes a “claim” for purposes of an EPLI policy.

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