This article is the last of a two-part series guest written by CEDR HR Solutions, a human resources solutions company. Like The American Association of Orthodontists (AAO) selected Lockton Affinity as an “endorsed partner” for the AAO-Insurance Program, CEDR HR Solutions was selected as a human resources services partner. CEDR HR Solutions offers AAO members a free HR consultation, employee handbook evaluation, access to their HR Vault® software, and an exclusive discount on a customized employee handbook.
The American Association of Orthodontists knows its members must address a myriad of employee-related issues as practice owners with employees. Some of these issues are easy to address while others can be a bit more difficult and can even present legal risk.
Because employment litigation is an expensive and all-too-common reality for many employers, AAO has taken steps to form valuable partnerships with CEDR HR Solutions for HR support and Lockton Affinity for Employment Practices Liability insurance.
These two services can help you prevent employment lawsuits from happening and mitigate damages to your business against the potentially crippling costs of litigation should an employment-based lawsuit ever come your way.
Here’s a breakdown of how these two AAO offerings work together.
Two Employment Law Compliance Solutions Available Through Your AAO Membership: CEDR’s Expert HR Support
Everything you do as a manager, including hiring, providing coaching, firing, and everything in between, is governed by one or more employment laws at the federal, state and local level.
Applying your management decisions in a way that protects your practice and complies with those laws requires a nuanced understanding of employment law and HR expertise, which is why it’s important to work with an HR or employment law expert whenever you make a decision that will impact your employees, such as:
- Classifying team members as exempt or non-exempt from overtime requirements
- Writing up an employee for poor performance or behavior
- Promoting or firing employees
The specialized knowledge offered by HR experts ensures these decisions are implemented legally, the proper protections are put in place to prevent a lawsuit from happening, and a system of documentation is built to serve as evidence should an employment lawsuit ever come your way.
As an AAO member, you have access to the credentialed HR Experts in CEDR’s Solution Center. CEDR’s Solution Center Advisors are on call to help walk you through complex HR processes and solve HR problems at your office, making it easy to check all the compliance boxes and build protections for your business as you go.
AAO practice owners also receive a complimentary review of employee handbooks and an exclusive discount on a customized, legally compliant employee handbook from the HR experts at CEDR HR Solutions.
Two Employment Law Compliance Solutions Available Through Your AAO Membership: Lockton Affinity’s Employment Practice Liability insurance
Even if you do everything right from a compliance perspective and you feel no one has ever done anything to warrant an employment claim against your business, there’s still a chance that your practice could face employment litigation.
Don’t make the mistake of assuming you are covered from employment-related claims by your general liability or workers’ compensation insurance. These policies do not cover employment claims and will not help you in the event that a current or former employee files a claim against your business.
That’s where Employment Practices Liability Insurance (EPLI) comes into play. EPLI serves as a safety net to help your practice fight certain employment claims when they come up, including:
- Workplace harassment
- Discrimination
- Retaliation
- Breach of an employment agreement
- Wrongful termination
- Violation of the Family and Medical Leave Act
- Invasion of privacy
- Failure to enforce adequate employment policies and procedures
EPLI coverage helps protect your practice from having to absorb the full cost to defend against these claims whether you win or lose a case.
Given the prevalence of employment-related claims and the incredible cost to defend against them, it’s a good idea to have EPLI in place.
To help protect AAO member practices from the high risk and cost of EPL claims, AAO has partnered with Lockton Affinity to administer the AAO-Endorsed Insurance Program.
Available to AAO practice owners, Lockton Affinity’s custom group Employment Practices Liability insurance protects against any claim based on the violation of employment discrimination law or disparate treatment. Plus, with policy limits options from $500K to $5M, you can select the limit to meet the exact needs of your practice.
Reducing the Risks of Employment Law Claims with CEDR and Lockton Affinity
Running your practice and treating your patients demands the vast majority of your time and focus, which is why AAO has partnered with CEDR HR Solutions and Lockton Affinity to provide its members with the perfect combination of employment practices solutions.
Take advantage of these incredible offerings today to prevent and protect against potential employment claims.
Click here to learn more about Lockton Affinity’s custom EPLI package for AAO members.
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