EEOC: Job Bias Charges Hit Record High of Nearly 100,000 in Fiscal Year 2010
According to the FY 2010 data, all major categories of charge filings in the private sector (which include charges filed against state and local governments) increased.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently announced that private sector workplace discrimination charge filings with the federal agency nationwide hit an unprecedented level of 99,922 during fiscal year (FY) 2010, which ended Sept. 30, 2010.
Despite the increase in overall charges filed with EEOC last fiscal year, the commission said it slowed the growth of the charge inventory. As a result, the federal agency ended FY 2010 with 86,338 pending charges - an increase of only 570 charges, or less than one percent. Between fiscal years 2008 and 2009, EEOC's pending inventory increased 15.9 percent.
We are pleased to see that our rebuilding efforts are having an impact on how efficiently and effectively the commission enforces the civil rights laws protecting the nation's workers," said EEOC Chair Jacqueline A. Berrien. "Discrimination continues to be a substantial problem for too many job seekers and workers, and we must continue to build our capacity to enforce the laws that ensure that workplaces are free of unlawful bias."
The FY 2010 data show that EEOC filed 250 lawsuits, resolved 285 lawsuits, and resolved 104,999 private sector charges. Through its combined enforcement, mediation and litigation programs, EEOC secured more than $404 million in monetary benefits from employers -- the highest level of monetary relief ever obtained by the commission through the administrative process -- to promote inclusive and discrimination-free workplaces.
The FY 2010 enforcement and litigation statistics, which include trend data, are available online at http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/statistics/enforcement/index.cfm.
According to the FY 2010 data, all major categories of charge filings in the private sector (which include charges filed against state and local governments) increased.