Question: Is it reasonable for bias charges and monies recovered be the highest in history when the economy has been so bad? Are these charges motivated by unemployment or by actual discrimination?
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
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 the EEOC last
fiscal year, the Commission dramatically 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, the 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 the EEOC filed 250 lawsuits, resolved 285
lawsuits, and resolved 104,999 private sector charges. Through its
combined enforcement, mediation and litigation programs, the 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. These include charges alleging
discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as
amended; the Equal Pay Act; the Age Discrimination in Employment Act;
the Americans with Disabilities Act; and the Genetic Information
Nondiscrimination Act (GINA). Last year, for the first time ever,
retaliation under all statutes (36,258) surpassed race (35,890) as the
most frequently filed charge, while allegations based on religion
(3,790), disability (25,165) and age (23,264) increased. In its first
year of enforcement, the EEOC received 201 charges under GINA.
Historically, race had been the most frequently filed charge since the
EEOC became operational in 1965. http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/statistics/enforcement/charges.cfm