EEOC Reports Increase In Bias Charges

Record High Harassment Claims Brought By Male Employees

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently reported that in the last fiscal year it received the highest volume of private sector discrimination charges since 2002. According to the agency’s Fiscal Year 2007 enforcement and litigation statistics, it received a total of 82,792 private sector discrimination charges last year. 2007 also saw the largest annual increase (9%) since the early 1990s.

Nearly every major category of charges increased from 2006 by double digit percentages. Race discrimination, followed by retaliation and sex discrimination, topped the list of most frequently filed charges. In 2007, pregnancy charges increased to a record high of 5,587. This is a 14% increase from the 4,901 charges filed in 2006. Sexual harassment filings also increased for the first time since 2000. A record 16 percent of these charges were filed by men (up from nine percent in the early 1990s).

In addition, the statistics showed that the amount that the EEOC recovered for charging parties increased by 26 percent from 2006. Of the approximately $345 million recovered (which was up from $274 million recovered in 2006), $55 million was obtained through litigation and more than $290 million was obtained through administrative enforcement and conciliation efforts.

Note: This article was published in the March/April 2008 issue of The Employment Law Authority.