EEOC Achievements in 2016 Highlighted by Discrimination Resolutions

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently released its 2016 Fiscal Year (FY) Performance Report. The report outlines the EEOC’s accomplishments in FY 2016, which ran from October 1, 2015, to September 30, 2016.

For highlights of the report issued by the EEOC, click here.

As an overview, the EEOC secured more than $482.1 million for discrimination victims in the private sector and in state and local governments. This number included $337.9 million that was secured through its own mediations, conciliations and settlements; $52.2 million secured through court litigations; and $84 million secured for federal employees and applicants.

The EEOC report details the agency’s resolution of over 15,800 charges of discrimination through settlements, mediations and conciliations, as well as the resolution of 273 systemic investigations. The agency also filed 86 lawsuits in FY 2016, covering a wide range of issues, with the most common allegation being disability discrimination (35 lawsuits). The lawsuits filed by the EEOC included 58 individual suits and 29 suits involving multiple victims or discriminatory policies. The lawsuits achieved approximately 90.6% favorable resolutions in district courts.

Below are a few chosen non-monetary accomplishments that the EEOC deemed significant in FY 2016:

• The EEOC received 91,503 charges in FY 2016, which is a slight increase over the prior year. However, the agency managed to resolve 97,433 charges, resulting in a net reduction of 3.8% in its charge backlog;
• The EEOC’s success rate in its mediation program remained high, with 76% of all mediations resulting in resolutions;
• The EEOC handled over 585,000 calls to its toll-free number and more than 160,000 pre-charge inquiries to their field offices, which reflected the substantial public demand for the EEOC’s services;
• The EEOC’s outreach programs reached 315,000 people during the year through participation in 3,700 no-cost educational training and outreach events; and
• The EEOC also revamped its Youth@Work website to reach younger generations in the workforce and launched the Small Business Resource Center for small business owners to access information on discrimination prevention.

The EEOC explained that going forward it will continue to seek justice in the face of discrimination and focus its efforts on activities that would have a strategic impact in advancing equal opportunity in the workplace.

If you are seeking assistance and representation in a discrimination, harassment and/or retaliation case, the attorneys at Lebau & Neuworth, LLC are experienced in handling EEOC proceedings for all types of employment discrimination claims, so we may be able to help you. Contact Lebau & Neuworth at (410) 296-3030 or lebauneuworth.com/contact-us.