EPLI defends the company and its managers against employment claims — the single most likely lawsuit a growing technology company will face.
Employment Practices Liability covers claims brought by employees, former employees, and applicants: wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment, retaliation, failure to promote, and hostile work environment. Defense costs sit inside the limit, and defense is where most of the money goes — the majority of these matters settle or are dismissed, but rarely before six figures of legal spend.
Frequency is the argument for buying it. A technology company is far more likely to face an employment claim than a securities claim or a catastrophic breach, and the probability rises sharply with headcount, with distributed hiring across states, and with any reduction in force. California, New York, New Jersey, and Illinois are meaningfully more active jurisdictions than the national average.
Third-party EPLI — claims by customers, vendors, or contractors alleging discrimination or harassment by your staff — is a common and inexpensive extension worth adding for any company with a field, sales, or support function.
Buy it when
Grants vary by carrier and form. These are the components we look for when we place it.
Including claims arising from reductions in force and performance-based exits.
Claims based on any protected class, brought by employees or job applicants.
Including claims arising from conduct in remote and distributed work settings.
Frequently the surviving count after other allegations are dismissed, and often the most expensive.
Discrimination or harassment claims brought by customers, vendors, or contractors against your employees.
Usually a sublimit and defense-only. Relevant if you use contractors, non-exempt staff, or commission plans.
Available on many forms; relevant for companies sponsoring visas.
We put this in front of you at binding — the only moment you can still do something about it.
Composite scenarios drawn from how these losses typically develop. Illustrative, not case files.
Two of the eleven employees exited allege the selection criteria disproportionately affected a protected class. Defense and settlement across both matters reaches $340,000.
A rejected applicant alleges discriminatory questioning by a hiring manager. EPLI covers applicants, not just employees — a distinction founders are often surprised by.
A harassment claim rests on messages in a distributed team's channels. The company's remote-first structure does not reduce exposure; it changes the evidence.
Ranges we commonly see for technology companies. Your contracts and exposure decide the answer — this is where the conversation starts, not where it ends.
| Stage | Typical | |
|---|---|---|
| Under 25 employees | $1M | Retention typically $10k–$25k. Often bundled with D&O on a management liability package. |
| 25 – 100 employees | $1M – $2M | Add third-party EPLI. Confirm wage and hour defense sublimit. |
| 100 – 250 employees | $2M – $5M | California and New York headcount drives both pricing and retention. |
| 250+ employees | $5M+ | Consider a dedicated wage and hour sublimit and a defense-counsel panel negotiation. |
What we need to quote
Most of this is collected once in the Atlas submission and reused across the markets we approach.
Start a submissionSometimes partially, and almost never adequately. PEO-provided EPLI often carries a low shared limit across all client companies and may not cover your officers the way you assume. We read the actual certificate before advising you either way.
No. It distributes it. Hiring in a new state subjects you to that state's employment law, and written communication in remote teams creates a clearer evidentiary record than an office ever did.
Typically defense costs only, subject to a sublimit. Indemnity for unpaid wages is generally not insurable. If you have a large non-exempt or contractor population, this is worth structuring deliberately.
Usually yes. A combined management liability package with D&O, EPLI, and Fiduciary is typically cheaper and avoids gaps when a claim names both the company and an individual.
Prepare for a startup D&O review with questions about board protection, company coverage, financing requirements, exclusions and prior acts.
Read the guide: D&O Insurance for Startups: Questions Before a Funding RoundTell us about the business once. A broker reviews it the same business day and comes back with a plan and a timeline.
