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One reason for this is a tendency among juries to favor employees who appear as the discriminated against David seeking justice against the corporate Goliath. Another reason is the rapidly growing number of lawsuits that have been filed alleging discrimination in the workplace over the past decade. One significant effect of this has been that more firms are seeking Employment Practices Liability Insurance (EPLI) “Because the number of lawsuits claiming sexual harassment has more than doubled since 1990, employers everywhere are looking at liability insurance to protect themselves from paying huge settlements, according to New York-based Insurance Services Office, Inc., the largest provide of property/casualty services” (Dobie 1). The effects are more far-reaching than merely purchasing insurance, however. For instance, when companies purchase EPLI their internal procedure and policies are subject to scrutiny by insurance companies that require reviews and audits concerning the training of managers and supervisors, employee handbooks on discrimination policies, and other human resource procedures and policies. While employees often claim they are victimized by discrimination, before 1991 they were only able to sue for back pay, lawyer’s fees and possible reinstatement. However, the Civil Rights Act of 1991 “put teeth into discrimination and harassment lawsuits, allowing recovery of up to $300,000 in punitive and compensatory damages” (Dobie 1 |
