The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency responsible for enforcing federal anti-discrimination laws and with which employees must first file a charge of discrimination before being able to sue employers in court, recently released its enforcement and litigation statistics for Fiscal Year 2019. Click here to see the EEOC’s comprehensive statistics.
The FY 2019 saw the lowest number of charges filed with the EEOC in over 20 years. Despite the number of charges being fewer than previous years, a massive total of 72,675 charges of workplace discrimination were still filed with the EEOC in FY 2019. As with years past, claims for retaliation amounted to the largest portion of charges at 53.8%, followed by discrimination involving disability at 33.4%, race at 33%, sex at 32.4%, age at 21.4%, and national origin at 9.6%. The percentages add up to more than 100% given that many charges allege multiple bases for discrimination.
The EEOC filed a total of 144 merits lawsuits alleging discrimination in FY 2019. According to its Agency Financial Report for FY 2019, the EEOC secured more than $486 million for victims of discrimination in FY 2019. Out of that total sum, approximately $346.6 million was secured for discrimination victims in private-sector and state- and local-government workplaces through mediation, conciliation and settlement. Another $39.1 million was recovered for charging parties and aggrieved individuals through litigation.
If you are seeking advice, assistance and representation for a workplace discrimination case, the attorneys at Lebau & Neuworth 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.
