The United States Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission (“EEOC”) recently issued a press release discussing the data concerning workplace
discrimination claims filed with that agency during the fiscal year 2012 (which
runs October 1 – September 30).
According to the EEOC, it received 99,412 private sector
workplace discrimination charges during fiscal year 2012, and the agency also
obtained more than $365 million worth of monetary recoveries on behalf of discrimination-claimants. While the number of charges was slightly
from fiscal year 2011, the EEOC’s $365.4 million in monetary recover is the largest
amount ever from private sector and state and local government employers. The most frequent type of discrimination claim
was race discrimination, of which there were 33,512 filings or 33.7%. Ranking third in the number of filings were
claims of sex discrimination, which include sexual harassment and pregnancy
allegations. There were 30,356 of such
sex discrimination claims, or of 30.5% of all claims, filed in 2012. Disability and national origin discrimination
claims were the next most common claims, totaling 26,379 (26.5%) and 22,857
(23%). Rounding out the list, with filings considerable
lower frequency were claims of national origin, religion, and color, accounting
for 10,883 (10.9%),3,811 (3.8%), and 2,662 (2.7%), respectively, of claims
filed in 2012. Separate and apart from these administrative charges, in fiscal year 2012
the EEOC filed one hundred twenty-two (122) lawsuits, including 86 individual
suits, 26 multiple-victim suits (with fewer than 20 victims) and 10 systemic
suits. The legal department at the EEOC resolved 254
lawsuits, recovering more than $44.2 million in monetary relief. The EEOC also completed 240 systemic investigations
in fiscal year 2012. Of those 240 investigations, 46 ended without
litigation, resolved through settlements or conciliation agreements which
totaled $36.2 million dollars for the victims. In an effort to be more transparent,
the EEOC for the first time released a new table disclosing the type of adverse
employment action alleged to be discriminatory. In fiscal year 2012, discharge was the
most frequently-cited discriminatory action under all statutes, followed by changes
in "terms and conditions" of employment, and then discipline. Overall, the EEOC secured benefits for more
than 23,446 people through its administrative enforcement activities -
mediation, settlements, conciliations, and withdrawals with benefits. Notably, the most frequently filed claims in 2012 were claims of retaliation, totaling 37,386, or 38.1% of all claims filed in a charge of discrimination. In fact, according to EEOC statistics, the number of retaliation claims filed with that agency has been on the rise for some time. The number of retaliation claims filed with the EEOC has almost doubled since 1997. As of 2012, retaliation claims now exceed all other unlawful discrimination claims. The number of retaliation is not that suprising. Anecdotally speaking, it is not uncommon for employee-plaintiff
to lose a discrimination claim, but succeed in his or her relation claim. This is significant to employers because an employee who succeeds in a retaliation claim is entitled to
the same significant statutory damages as a successful discrimination
plaintiff, i.e. emotional distress, reasonable costs and attorneys’ fees.
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