State statutes and local policies require or permit indemnification for conduct within the scope of employment. Punitive damages and intentional misconduct are frequently excluded.
Refusal to indemnify may be challenged.
Alternative Names:
Officer Indemnification|Public Employee Indemnification
Why it Matters?
Punitive damage exclusions leave genuine personal exposure that compensatory indemnification does not, which creates divergent settlement interests between the entity and individual defendants and may warrant separate counsel. Scope determinations are also contested, since an entity denying indemnification on scope grounds effectively takes a position adverse to its employee that plaintiffs then use. Resolving scope early avoids that conflict.
Frequently Confused with
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
What exposure remains personal?
What conflict arises from scope disputes?
