Pub. 14 2015-2016 Issue 1

N E W J E R S E Y C O A L I T I O N O F A U T O M O T I V E R E T A I L E R S I S S U E N O . 2 , 2 0 1 5 16 new jersey auto retailer EPLI: BY DINA M. MASTELLONE, ESQ. AND GILLIAN A. COOPER, ESQ. W e live in a litigious society, and a car dealership, no matter the size, must consider the possibility that it may be named in a lawsuit at some point in time. Employment claims of harassment, gender, race, and age discrimination and wrongful termination are on the rise across the country. Car dealerships employ various types of employees, from receptionists to commissioned sales persons, and are subject to the risk of litigation. Lawsuits, as we all know, are expensive. So, what can a dealership do to protect itself against the cost of litigation? Make sure you are adequately and appropriately insured. Employment Practice Liability Insurance (“EPLI”) is a type of liability insurance that protects dealerships - including current, former, and prospective employees, directors and officers, and the corporate entity - against claims by employees, former employees and employment candidates from claims that their legal rights have been violated. EPLI also helps manage the risks associated with a dealership’s employment practices. Employment claims have been rising both nationally and in New Jersey over the last decade given employees’ increased and acute awareness of their rights in the work- place. Furthermore, the number of employment-related claims filed through the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights (NJDCR) continues to trend upward given the high unemployment rates and changing regulatory and enforcement activities. In fact, New Jersey had the sixth-highest unemployment rate in the nation in March 2015 and is one of seven states whose unemployment rates have actually increased since October 2014, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics information released on April 30, 2015. Moreover, filing an employment-related charge is simple and free. In the fiscal year 2014, the EEOC received 88,778 charges of workplace discrimination and the percentage of charges alleging retaliation reached its highest amount ever: 42.8%. Thirty percent of the charges filed with EEOC alleged the issue of harassment on various bases, such as race or disability. The EEOC also obtained $296.1 million in total monetary relief through its enforcement program prior to the filing of litigation. In New Jersey, 1,613 charges of discrimination were filed with the EEOC in 2014. Additionally, discrimination suits are one of the most common heard in federal courts. Despite these A Different Kind of “Auto” Insurance