EEOC received 67,448 charges, resolved 70,804 charges and secured $439.2 million in relief
On February 26, 2021 the EEOC released its annual nationwide enforcement and litigation data for fiscal year 2020. State specific enforcement data identifies individual charge filings within the state and the percent of total state charges and percent of total U.S. charges. During the year, the agency received 67,448 charges of discrimination and secured $439.2 million in relief for victims of discrimination in the private sector and state and local government through voluntary settlements and litigation.
During FY 2020 EEOC resolved 70,804 charges and increased its merit factor resolution rate to 17.4% from 15.6% during FY 2019. Merit resolutions include charges that were resolved during the pre-litigation process in favor of the charging party. Inquiries to its toll-free number included 187,000 inquiries in field offices and 122,775 inquiries to its online intake and appointment scheduling system. Through closures and resolutions, EEOC reduced its inventory of pending charges by 3.7%.
The following summarizes the type of charges filed during the fiscal year representing the highest to lowest cited claim. The arrow indicates the percent increase ↑, decrease ↓, or stayed the same →. The percentages below add up to more than 100% due to the filing of multiple bases.
- Retaliation: 37,632 (55.8 percent of all charges filed) ↑
- Retaliation [Title VII only]: 27,997 (41.5%) ↓
- Disability: 24,324 (36.1 percent) ↑
- Race: 22,064 (32.7 percent) ↓
- Sex: 21,398 (31.7 percent) ↓
- Age: 14,183 (21.0 percent) ↓
- National Origin: 6,377 (9.5 percent) ↓
- Color: 3,562 (5.3 percent) ↑
- Religion: 2,404 (3.6 percent) ↓
- Equal Pay Act: 980 (1.5 percent) →
- Genetic Information: 440 (0.7 percent) ↑
The number of pregnancy and LGBT discrimination charges decreased from FY 2019; however, the number of resolutions increased.
Ninety-three lawsuits were filed and 165 merits lawsuits were resolved by the EEOC legal staff. Through litigation $106 million was recovered representing the largest recovery through the EEOC’s litigation program in the past 16 years. EEOC was able to secure successful outcome in 95.8% of all district court resolutions.
OutSolve's Insight
As in past years, retaliation leads the list. Employers should be aware of the fact that the EEOC prioritizes complaints of retaliation. They take precedence over all other complaints. When an employee files a complaint with the EEOC, employers should make every effort to avoid even the appearance of retaliation against a complainant. Keep in mind that the majority of complaints filed with the EEOC are dismissed after investigation, with no charges filed. OutSolve offers employers the best e-learning solutions on the market for affirmative action and sexual harassment prevention training. Employers can take advantage of these courses and easily implement a dynamic training program across their company.