Top Workplace Discrimination Claims

Top Workplace Discrimination Claims

Retaliation is again the number one discrimination charge filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), followed by disability, race, sex and age.

Each year the EEOC breaks down charges and last year the agency received 72,675 charges of workplace discrimination for fiscal year 2019. The FY 2019 data show that retaliation continued to be the most frequently filed charge filed with the agency.

The enforcement and litigation statistics are for FY 2019, which ended Sept. 30, 2019.

The total 72,675 charges received by EEOC was down from 76,418 in 2018 and 84,254 in 2017. In 2019, the agency determined that 69.5% of the charges filed lacked a reasonable cause. The agency reported a total of $346.6 million paid in monetary settlements.

A total of 39,110 retaliation claims were filed with the agency in FY2019 — about the same as the prior year. In 2019, EEOC ruled that about 70% lacked reasonable cause. More than $205 million was paid in monetary settlements of retaliation claims.

The agency received 7,514 sexual harassment charges — 10.3% of all charges, and a 1.2% decrease from FY 2018. Of that 2019 total, EEOC found that about 54.6% lacked reasonable cause. Overall, sexual harassment charges resulted on monetary settlements of $68.2 million, up from $56.6 million in 2018. Of the total charges alleging sexual harassment, 16.8% were brought by males in 2019.

The agency filed 157 enforcement lawsuits in 2019, down from 217 in 2018.

The EEOC charge numbers show the following breakdowns by bases alleged, in descending order:

Note: The percentages add up to more than 100% because some charges allege multiple bases.