You’ve probably heard about cancel culture and might be wondering how you need to deal with it as a business owner. There’s been a lot of discussion around this topic in recent times and it’s not hard to see why. The protection of employees is paramount for most business owners, but you might also want to avoid falling into a cancel culture trap.

It’s important to consider the insurance coverage needs of your business in the light of cancel culture and a heightened focus on conflict between employees and the necessity of a safe and welcoming work environment for all staff members.

We’re going to take a look at some of the most pressing issues in this area today and how you need to look at protecting your business and your staff in the age of cancel culture. So read on now to find out everything you need to know.

What Is Cancel Culture?

First, what is cancel culture and what does it mean in practice? Canceling someone is ostracizing them or cutting ties with them based on something they’ve said or done in the past that is deemed unacceptable today.

It’s something that’s often confined to social media, but it’s also impacting businesses in various ways too. For example, if a worker is shunned or ‘canceled’, they might regard this as being exposed to a hostile work environment, which can have legal ramifications for the business.

It’s also possible that someone needs to be canceled for legitimate reasons such as harassment or assault of co-workers or employees.

Hostile Work Environments

One thing to consider is how an employee might perceive they’re working in a hostile work environment. This is what might cause them to make complaints or accusations against managers or co-workers. But what an employee considers a hostile work environment might not meet the legal definition.

If there’s a pattern of behavior that leads to a person being discriminated against or made unable to do their job safely, and that pattern continues for a prolonged period, that would suggest that they are working in a hostile environment.

If they’re discriminated against as a member of a protected group, this will also be grounds for them to take legal action, especially if the person responsible for that discrimination isn’t removed from the work environment or otherwise dealt with adequately.

Dealing With Harassment and Discrimination Among Employees

Your business can be held liable when there’s a problem that happens between employees inside your workplace, and that’s something you should try to keep in mind as you navigate issues around cancel culture. It all starts with making it possible for employees to voice concerns and making them feel safe to do so.

When an issue has been raised and the relevant people inside the business are aware of it, it demands a response of some sort. Talking to the involved parties, getting their side of the story, and things like that might be required. Then you might give them a warning or require them to take training to ensure it doesn’t happen again, or even fire them if the issue is serious enough.

Once you have processes in place for dealing with unacceptable behaviors, it’s important that those rules are implemented in a way that’s consistent and reliable. Your team needs to be aware of what the consequences are for certain actions and people can’t be treated differently based on rank or anything like that, as that could leave the business open to legal action too.

Protecting Against Legal Action With the Right Insurance

It’s a good idea to make sure that you have insurance in place to protect you against any of the matters discussed above. In the age of cancel culture, it’s more important than ever before to be protected. Good management and training are still the best defenses against problems and legal action, but insurance is there to offer you the backup you need as no business is perfect.

You’ll need to have EPLI or employment practices liability insurance in place to start with. This is important because it covers you against a range of liability related risks. Any business with a team, especially a large team, needs to have this kind of coverage. It’ll significantly mitigate the risks associated with employee-related problems.

It’s also good to have general liability insurance in place as an extra layer of protection that your business might one day need. It covers you against lots of threats that businesses often come up against, and although no policy is perfect, it will help to protect against a range of potential legal actions.

As you can see, there are lots of things to consider with finding the right insurance for your business in the age of cancel culture. If you’d like more support with finding the insurance that’s going to be right for you, contact us here at Harrah & Associates Inc. today and speak to a member of our team.