wage and hour indemnity coverage
Wage and hour indemnity coverage refers to a type of insurance that covers indemnity costs (i.e., settlements and judgments) resulting from wage and hour claims.
Additional Information
The two major categories of wage and hour claims are those alleging (1) failure to pay overtime (to "nonexempt" employees who are not exempt from, and thus eligible for, overtime pay) and (2) miscellaneous pay practices claims, which include but are not limited to misclassifying employees as independent contractors, failure to grant rest and meal breaks, and failure to pay wages when due. In addition to covering wage and hour indemnity costs, the policies can be written with options that cover (1) the defense of wage and hour claims and/or (2) standard employment-related perils, such as discrimination, wrongful termination, and harassment. One drawback associated with wage and hour indemnity coverage is that (depending on the insurer), such policies require per-claim self-insured retentions ranging from a low of $250,000 to $1 million. Since only large, financially strong businesses generally have the financial wherewithal to self-fund risks of this magnitude, only a handful of companies purchase wage and hour indemnity coverage.
