EEOC Completes Annual Performance and Accountability Report for 2011

Specifically:

• the EEOC received 99,947 charges of discrimination in fiscal year 2011, which ended on September 30.  This is the highest number of charges in the Commission's history.  The most common complaint was for retaliation (37,334 charges), followed by discrimination because of race (35,395 charges).
• the EEOC secured more than $364.6 million in monetary benefits through its private sector administrative enforcement activities (e.g., mediations, settlements, conciliations, and withdrawals with benefits).  This amount is $45 million more than the recovered amount for fiscal year 2010.
• at the end of fiscal year 2011, there were 78,136 pending charges.  The EEOC reports that the pending inventory of private sector charges was reduced by more than 8,000 charges, or 10 percent, over the fiscal year 2010 level.  The level of this reduction has not been achieved since 2002.

The 2011 PAR also reports the following facts of interest to private employers:

• Through its private sector mediation program, the COmmission resolved 9,831 cases that produced a total of more than $170 million in benefits for complainants.  This is the highest number of resolutions in the history of the program (i.e., this is five percent more than the 9,362 resolutions reported in fiscal year 2010).  Additionally, the recovered amount reached a record level.  It is $29 million more than the recovered amount for fiscal year 2010.
• In fiscal year 2011, the EEOC field legal units filed 261 lawsuits, which is an increase over fiscal year 2010.  These civil actions included 177 single-plaintiff lawsuits, 61 civil actions involving multiple plaintiffs, and 23 lawsuits alleging systematic discrimination.  Of these filings, 162 contained TItle VII claims, 80 contained Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) claims, 26 contained Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) claims, and two contained Equal Pay Act (EPA) claims.