EEOC Charges, Enforcement, Recoveries Up in 2023: Report

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) reported heightened enforcement activity, charge activity and settlements in 2023, according to a recently released report on the agency’s performance during fiscal year (FY) 2023, covering October 1, 2022, through September 30, 2023.

“In line with its strategic plan and strategic enforcement plan, the agency’s performance during FY 2023 reflects both an increased demand for its services and significant remedies for workers who suffered discrimination,” the EEOC report said. The agency reported that it handled more than 522,000 calls from the public through the agency contact center and a 10% increase in receipts of private sector charges of discrimination, while recovering more than $665 million for employees over discrimination.

Overall litigation driven by the EEOC increased, along with a 50% increase in the amount recovered through those litigations and a 10% increase in charges filed with the EEOC.

Some of that increased charge activity relates to the new Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA). During FY 2023, the EEOC implemented the newly enacted PWFA, which was signed into law on December 29, 2022. The PWFA provides workers with limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions the ability to obtain reasonable accommodations, absent undue hardship to the employer. The EEOC began accepting PWFA charges on the law’s effective date, June 27, 2023.

Overall, the report reveals that the EEOC has pursued an aggressive litigation strategy, according to an online analysis by JD Supra of the report. “It comes as no surprise that the EEOC’s enforcement activity, charge activity, and settlements have all increased under a Democratic administration,” the firm wrote.

The performance report showed that the EEOC’s recovering of the more than $665 million for employees for discrimination is a 29.5% increase over FY 2022. Of that total, approximately $440.5 million was for 15,143 employees for employment discrimination in the private sector, and state and local government workplaces through mediation, conciliation, and settlements; and more than $202 million for 5,943 federal employees and applicants, an increase of 53% over FY 2022.

Other report highlights:

• The EEOC received 81,055 new discrimination charges in 2023, which included 233,704 inquiries in field offices, more than 522,000 calls from the public through the agency contact center, and over 86,000 emails, representing respective increases of 10.3%, 6.9%, 10%, and 25% over FY 2022.
• The EEOC filed 143 new lawsuits, an increase of more than 50% compared to FY 2022, including 86 suits on behalf of individuals, 32 non-systemic suits with multiple victims, and 25 systemic suits involving multiple victims or discriminatory policies.
• The EEOC obtained more than $22.6 million for 968 individuals in litigation, while resolving 98 lawsuits and achieving “favorable results” in 91% of all federal district court resolutions.
• The EEOC reported reducing both private and federal sector inventories, including reducing the private sector inventory by almost 300 charges, despite the 10.3% increase in new charges.
• The agency also noted reducing federal sector hearings inventory by 26.3%, the sixth consecutive annual reduction in the federal hearings inventory, and resolving 2,207 federal sector appeals that were or would have been more than 15 months old at the end of the fiscal year, substantially increasing the speed of resolutions.

“Given the increases in charges, litigation, and demand for EEOC services, employers should continue to keep their guard up, particularly due to the increases in monetary recovery,” advised JD Supra in its analysis. “With the upcoming presidential election, employers face the potential for the continuation of the EEOC’s aggressive agenda or a potential shift in a different direction.”