Anything that you do as a result of your duties really has to be covered by your employer.
This is simply not true.
Check into your own employer's policies. Here at my university, I will be indemnified for my actions that result from performance of my professional duties
if and only if my employer determines that I have taken those actions in good faith. This leaves my employer with a huge loophole.
Not mine. It is the judge, mediator, arbitrator, or other objective finder of fact, and not the employer, who has the right to make that determination. I've had administrative responsibilities for the last ten years across three different colleges/universities, and I worked as a paralegal and family therapist (not at the same time) for ten years at the beginning of my professional life, and it's always been clear that as long as my actions have been ethical and/or reasonable and have been performed as a normal part of my job, as determined by an objective party (e.g., the state licensing agency for family therapy), I was covered by my employers' malpractice/liability insurance policies. It actually has never come up--there has never been a lawsuit involving my department or any of my clients.
It's too bad your employer is so rigid, CC; I would never agree to a contract under those conditions. Can you get someone to renegotiate this for you? It really is highly unusual in my 30 years of experience in the work world, almost all of which has involved some kind of liability potential.
