According to the study, a U.S.-based business with at least 10 employees has a 12.5% chance each year of having an employment liability charge filed against it. California has the most frequent incidences of EPL charges in the country, with a 42% higher-than-average chance of being sued by an employee. Other high-risk jurisdictions include the District of Columbia (32% above the national average), Illinois (26%), Alabama (25%), Mississippi (19%), Arizona (19%) and Georgia (18%). Lower-risk states for EPL charges include West Virginia, Massachusetts, Michigan, Kentucky and Washington.

Bert Spunberg, a colleague at Hiscox who is a senior vice president and the practice leader for executive risk, says: "Federal level information on employee charges is generally available, but state specific information is more difficult to aggregate. Understanding employee litigation risk at a state level is a crucial step for an organization to establish the processes and protections to effectively manage their risk in this changing legal environment."

State laws can have a significant impact on risk. For example, the employee-friendly nature of California law in the area of disability discrimination may contribute to the high charge frequency in the state. Discrimination cases filed at the state level in California are brought under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). FEHA applies to a broader swath of businesses, covering any company with five employees, vs. a 15-employee minimum for cases brought under federal law as outlined in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.

Mark Ogden, managing partner of Littler Mendelson, the largest employment and labor law firm in the world, says: "Not only are employment lawsuits more likely in those states, but the likelihood of catastrophic verdicts is also significantly higher. Unlike their federal counterparts, where compensatory and punitive damages combined are capped at $300,000, most state employment statutes impose no damages ceilings. Consequently, employers in high-risk states must ensure that their workforces are adequately trained regarding workplace discrimination, harassment and retaliation and that policies forbidding such conduct are strictly enforced.”

For more on the study, click here.

Operation Revenge was a winner, but not because Corvell was led out of the auditorium by Detective Doyle.  That was sweet, but the positive feedback from the crowd, the many business cards from VCs Jack had in his wallet afterwards and, most importantly, Glenn Cheeky’s kiss of success are what will make a difference in the long run. The product launch was their graduation from a start-up into an all grown up business.  So, what’s next?

First, they need to keep spreading the word through PR and social media.  The reporters won’t always be there and it’s now up to C3D to keep their company and product top of mind.  Which leads nicely into their second task.

Second, C3D needs to keep influencing the influencers.  A positive Tweet or blog post by a tech industry thought leader could be the key to C3D’s commercial success. Sending free C3D conferencing systems to some top Silicon Valley media and investors would be a nice start.

Finally, they need to define the C3D brand in the marketplace.  This is about meaning something specific to the right people, not everything to everybody.  People like to hide behind texts these days, how can C3D get them to invite their friends and family around the world into their living room via hologram?

It’s been great to see C3D roll with the punches, keep finding new ways forward and never lose their will – just like thousands of successful startups have before them.  This season both the team and the business matured into better versions of themselves.  Their next step will be no easier - going from concept, to reality, to actual commercial success.  And that’s the thrill of entrepreneurship, no matter how high the next hill is to climb, if you believe, work hard and get the right support, you can make it to the top.

Now that Bryn’s death threat got his attention, it’s up to Jack to use his silver tongue to get Corvel where they want him – at their impending product launch.  As Jack sits down for an extended heart to heart with Corvel, Olivia and Derek (welcome back!) play cat robbers looking for those elusive stolen prototypes.  The Machiavellian Corvel is surprised to hear C3D and Livefy have merged, since the other company doesn’t exist, but seems happy to hear Bryn is on track with the prototypes.

After fighting each other and their imaginary competition for the last few months, the only thing that really matters for C3D is whether their product will be ready for the launch.  This is where Corvel might have actually helped them with his creative destruction methods.  Not only does Bryn have the new prototypes almost ready, but she found a bug in the original code that Sergei designed for the $500,000 competition orchestrated by Corvel last year – this guy really likes to pull people’s strings. That bug could have really come back to bite C3D once their product hit the market.  But, their professional liability insurance would cover them for Sergei’s error, or potential errors from other past acts of employees.  It doesn’t seem like they’re in control of much right now, but that’s something they can take into their own hands.

Predictions for the finale?  Next week C3D is settling all family business and I have a feeling a few more surprises are in store for Mr. Corvel, Detective Doyle and anybody else who doubted their will to succeed.

“Pepper Out”.

Now Bryn's threatened Andy Corvel's life and kidnapped June Pepper. Nothing like raising the stakes just when things were starting to feel a little more like a regular old boring startup just trying to make the next billion dollar product. It's hard to tell exactly what's going through Bryn's mind right now, but her witty repartee with Remy the Detective was straight out of Law & Order or some old detective novel. But, for all her quick, acid responses, she might have actually exposed C3D to some real potential issues through the videos she posted on Behind the Hologram.

It's not so much that Bryn threatened to kill Andy Corvel, that's serious, but something for the police to address. However, the incendiary remarks she made about both Corvel and Livefye could potentially open C3D up to charges of slander or libel from their competitors, or their benefactor. Most startups don't threaten anyone with physical harm, but quite a few have gone a little overboard in promoting their product and putting down the competition. Of course, there's small business insurance to cover this. C3D would be protected from potential claims of advertising injury through their general liability policy. What's not covered? Kidnapping and death threats. That's something the team will need to deal with on their own.

So, if the Livefye office is fake and Andy Corvel paid off Derek's lawyer fees, what exactly has been going on this whole season? And who actually stole their prototypes?

In a near perfect storm of personal and professional challenges, the C3D team is on the verge of a complete breakdown, and nowhere closer to getting their product ready for the launch. The Kiss continues to reverberate back at the C3D offices and the late nights there are more about loneliness and soul-searching than the all night programming sessions people normally expect at a startup.

Bryn's decision to take matters (and June Pepper) into her own hands will only up everyone's stress levels. It feels like the whole team is getting close to their breaking point, especially Aaron. Kicked out of his home and looking forward to sleepless nights at the office, he then finds out it was his brother Derek who's been spying on them and helping the enemy this whole time.

Firing Derek couldn't have been much easier for Aaron than telling Lisa he hooked up with Bryn. And who knows what else Derek shared with their rivals? There's no insurance for a shattered relationship, but C3D could have protected themselves against future problems at the company caused by Derek's professional negligence, even now that he's gone. Their professional liability policy would cover them for past acts of their employees. This is important, because who knows exactly what Derek's been up to these past few weeks, or even what he did right after Aaron told him to pack up and leave. Besides, who wants to worry about employees continuing to hurt you even after they're gone?

Now that C3D has added kidnapping to their list of regular business tactics, what's next? Jack challenging Sam the CEO of Livefye to an old fashioned duel? Things are starting to get really, really interesting, and dangerous.

After the last couple weeks, do you think C3D is starting to lose their moral compass? Or are they just doing what's necessary to survive and beat the competition?

The sabotage takes many forms, including a Watergate-style meeting in a garage, Aaron as a fake driver and the old glass of water on the keyboard trick. Unfortunately, this is something that's happened by mistake before (the water on the keyboard that is). For example, say you accidentally spilled water, coffee, RedBull or some other liquid on a client's laptop, or even your own equipment. Would you be on the hook for the cost of the laptop and the cost of retrieving their data? Is there a way to protect yourself against these unfortunate circumstances? Of course there's a way to protect yourself. The Electronic Data package as part of your business owner insurance would help pay to replace the damaged equipment, costs to get the data back and any business interruption. A nice, inexpensive safety net to protect against unexpected problems.

It's too late for the other teams in the TechStars competition, though. Once again, Jack and Aaron made it through and C3D lives on to fight another day. Their welcome reception back in San Francisco is more than a little bittersweet for Aaron as he continues to wrestle with his conscience. The sideways glance Lisa gave him when he talked to Bryn couldn't have helped his nerves at all.

Latest crisis averted. Now on to the next one — will Bryn keep working to complete the prototypes in time, or has her romantic interest in Aaron thrown everything completely off track once again? And what happens when Olivia tells everybody that Derek is a spy in their midst?

Techstars is just what this company needs right now — a startup accelerator. Techstars is one of the most successful startup accelerators and what they do is help out startups by providing the mentoring, tools and funding (sometimes) that these companies need to grow. C3D is a perfect candidate, and the funding and guidance from Techstars could be just what they need to put them over the top.

As we've already seen this season and last, life can be pretty hectic in a startup, and mistakes can be made, even if you're doing your best. That's why a useful companion to a startup accelerator for a new business is a startup protector in the form of Tech insurance. The C3D team could use this to protect them from software copyright infringement, an underperforming technology upgrade or even a client who's just unhappy with their work and files a suit. Hopefully C3D uses this opportunity to boost their business without creating any new problems — they have enough already.

What technology startup insurance can't protect against are horror shows like Jack's hair back in college. Whatever look he was going for, it's not happening. Oh, those crazy college days. But, just when we find out how Aaron and Lisa initially found love, the working relationship between Aaron and Bryn gets a lot closer than we anticipated. How's he going to wiggle his way out of this one? And how will the team come up with a concept that can win the Techstars competition and help accelerate their business?

It looks like dumpster diving isn't the only dirty business Derek is involved in these days. That pesky harassment lawsuit his assistant filed against him last season just won't go away, something Josie Hersh interrupted his nice dinner of avocado stuffed avocados to remind him of. Seems like June Pepper caught him at just the right time — he was desperate and her offer seemed like the only way to resolve his issue, especially with the current prospects of C3D.

Unfortunately lawsuits, whether legitimate or spurious, are a major threat, especially to small businesses. That's another way insurance can help small businesses. Instead of draining their cashflow to defend themselves, an insurance policy may cover these costs which will help with liquidity if the suit is effecting operations. Better to be safe than sorry is a good approach. Basically, do the opposite of what Derek's doing these days.

Now it looks like C3D's biggest embarrassment might turn into the best opportunity to get the funding they need to get their product launched on time. The mobile flour bomb was as unexpected as it was strange. Really, who's in charge of security for their office?

The TechStars competition looks like it might be just what they need to get the funding to finish the prototypes in time for the new, early launch date. TechStars knows how to give startups the advice, tools and funding they need to be successful. But, the competition will be tough. I wish our favorite startup would do something to give us confidence that they're up to the task.

Can't wait to see what happens next episode. Until then, keep your office doors locked and watch out for those flour robots!

The bank account hack really threw C3D for a loop. Unfortunately, this type of thing happens more often than you'd think and it's often an inside job. But, just like their coverage for the damaged equipment from last week's break-in (if they could report it), there's a way to protect a company from employee theft. If C3D added a commercial crime package to their business owner's policy, they'd be reimbursed for fraudulent transfers, employee theft, forged checks and other dishonest acts that might happen.

So, about that rival company, Livefy. It's hard to believe that the office being destroyed and the bank account hack aren't tied together. Jack's romantic wanderings have once again caused trouble for the team. It seems like June Pepper was very busy while she had Jack detained on her couch at the beginning of the season. What about Sam the Livefy CEO that Jack and Aaron invited over to threaten and dress down? That didn't exactly work out as planned. Jack is going to have to pull of a miracle to make this work and regain the support of his team.

But, why was Sam so harsh to Jack and Aaron and so sweet with Olivia? I've got a hunch her feelings might change once she realizes she's sleeping with the enemy.

If their rival Livefy really did all of these things why wouldn't C3D want revenge? The only problem is, the notion of getting revenge is always better than actually doing it. They say revenge is a dish best served cold, but C3D needs to do something now before they transform from a hot startup into Silicon Valley's latest cold leftovers.

Maybe their benefactor Glenn Cheeky can help? Kind of, but while he did put them in touch with detective Smiley, he also instructed them not to file a police report and suffer the related bad publicity. Glenn's advice makes sense. Bad press can quickly rub the shine off an exciting new company for analysts, investors and consumers. But operating without funds can do just the same — and probably quicker.

The C3D team is in a unique situation with the intense media and gossip network of Silicon Valley influencing their judgment. But what if this was just a normal business? How would they get back on their feet after a break-in?

Well, if C3D had a business owner policy (BOP), they would have been able to get compensated for their damaged equipment to start out, even if it's leased. This policy typically also pays to remove debris left behind from the break-in and for damaged personal items. It will even pay to restore electronic data destroyed on electronic files (luckily Bryn learned from last year and started to back their files up off site) and for business interruption claims for lost income due to the break-in. Since C3D is a startup working to get a new product on the market, business interruption might not apply, but for many businesses this coverage can be a lifesaver and keep a temporary setback like a break-in or a fire from becoming something that truly threatens the future of their businesses.

So, what's the next step for C3D? Finding the people who broke into their office could let them exact some revenge, but will it help them get their product to market on time?