California #1 Riskiest State for Employee Lawsuits

While there are a lot of reasons California has been the #1 Judicial Hellhole for two years running, how we deal with employment lawsuits is one reason we will probably stay at the top of the list for a third straight year.

According to a new study by Hiscox , on average, a United States-based business with at least 10 employees has a 12.5% chance of having an employment liability charge filed against them in a given year. Businesses in states like California face higher levels of exposure to litigation than others due to their unbalanced laws.

Here are the five states with where employers face the highest risk of employee lawsuits:

5. Georgia – 18% higher than the national average.

4. Arizona/Mississippi – A tie at 19% higher.

3. Alabama – Coming in at 25% higher than the national average.

2. Illinois – 26%

And… drum roll please…

1. California – 42% higher chance of being sued by an employee than the national average.

In California, our state laws allow, and even encourage employment lawsuits, and these laws greatly increase the risk that any given business will face an employment lawsuit in a given year.

Like I said, this is not a surprise considering the legislation and regulations on the books, but it is yet another embarrassing ranking for the state. Is it any wonder that businesses are looking elsewhere to expand? If California is serious about growing our economy, we need to take a good, hard look at our state laws, and enact reform to create jobs, not lawsuits.