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Health & Fitness

Illinois a leader in employment litigation

A new study by Hiscox examines the average rate US-based companies are sued by employees. According to the survey, on average a United States-based business with at least 10 employees has a 12.5% chance of being sued by an employee.

The national average is 12.5 percent but the average in Illinois is 26 percent higher than the national average, making Illinois the state with the second highest rate of employment based litigation. Only California has a higher rate of employment related lawsuits filed.

Not only is the risk of employment lawsuits greater in high risk states such as Illinois, but the study also notes that there is a significantly higher risk of catastrophic verdicts in those states as well. In other words, not only do Illinois companies have a higher risk of employment litigation, Illinois-based companies also have a greater probability of paying out larger sums than the national average.

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Illinois is ranked 46th out of 50 states for legal fairness and so it is not surprising that Illinois ranks as one of the states in the country for employment litigation. The lack of lawsuit reform in Illinois has helped the lawsuit industry flourish. If we want to change the culture of lawsuit abuse in Illinois, we have to make lawsuit reform a priority. As long as the legislative leaders in the House and the Senate continue to ignore the need for lawsuit reform, Illinois will continue to be a destination state for lawsuit tourists. What Illinois needs is jobs – not lawsuits. The Hiscox survey is another reminder of the need for lawmakers to make lawsuit reform a priority.

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