EEOC: Federal Discrimination Charges Filed Slightly Lower Than Last Year; Federal Retaliation Claims Catch Up With Federal Race Discrimination Claims
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released its federal claims statistics for 2009 (which includes claims filed through September 2009). 93, 277 total claims were filed last year, slightly lower than in 2008 but still the second highest ever. Also, although they each count for 36% of the total claims filed, for the first time, the number of retaliation charges filed (33,613) is slightly higher than race discrimination claims, which had historically been the single highest category of claims charged.
Monetary relief obtained for claimants totaled over $376 million.
The high level of charges filed can be due to many factors, according to the EEOC, including economic factors, increased employee awareness of their rights under the law, and changes in the EEOC intake process that makes it easier for employees to file claims.
The report in its entirety can be found at http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/statistics/enforcement/index.cfm.