Most employment practice liability insurance claims result from management failing to take training in the area seriously, an attorney cautioned an insurers group yesterday.

Speaking at the Professional Insurance Wholesalers Association midyear meeting in Pearl River, N.Y., Paul Siegel said, “Managers don't understand what this is all about because no one explains in real life terms what this is all about.”

For example, the lackluster employee who is barely surviving on the job for years finally goofs up once too often and gets fired. But lo and behold, he claims it is because he is over 40, or if it is a woman, because she just became pregnant, he said.

Mr. Siegel, a partner with Jackson Lewis law firm, said, “Despite increasing equal opportunity awareness and efforts to implement effective policies, statistics show continuing high levels of allegations of unlawful discrimination.”

He quoted a Jury Verdict Research report that said the national median for jury awards in employment practice liability cases rose 18 percent in 2003 to $250,000.

From 1997 to 2003 age discrimination plaintiffs won the most money, according to the study.

Last year a U.S. Supreme Court ruling involving the City of Jackson, Miss., found that an individual protected by the Age Discrimination in Employment Act can sue an employer if his actions had a disparate impact because of age.

“Employers should, among other things, review their current compensation, benefit or other employee policies to evaluate their impact upon older workers and address any unintended consequences in light of this decision,” he said.

In essence, employers must look to see if their actions have a discriminatory impact, even if that was not the intention, he said.

Other new areas of concern, he said, include religious harassment for which claims have risen 30 percent since 2000.

“To minimize conflict, an employer should have an anti-harassment policy in place and proceed with the best intentions and good faith in dealing respectfully with the employee who raises a religious issue to arrive at a mutually acceptable accommodation,” said Mr. Siegel.

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