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EEOC says charges of retaliation up nearly 5%

February 11, 2016

A new report by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission shows charges of retaliation increased by nearly 5% in fiscal year 2015. In total, charges of retaliation made up 45% of all private sector charges filed with the EEOC.

Disability charges increased by 6% from last year and are the third largest category of charges filed.

EEOC resolved 92,641 charges in fiscal year 2015, and secured more than $525 million for victims of discrimination in private sector and state and local government workplaces through voluntary resolutions and litigation.

The charge numbers show the following breakdowns by alleged bases:

  • Retaliation: 39,757 (44.5% of all charges filed)
  • Race: 31,027 (34.7%)
  • Disability: 26,968 (30.2%)
  • Sex: 26,396 (29.5%)
  • Age: 20,144 (22.5%)
  • National Origin: 9,438 (10.6%)
  • Religion: 3,502 (3.9%)
  • Color: 2,833 (3.2%)
  • Equal Pay Act: 973 (1.1%)
  • Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act: 257 (0.3%)

These percentages add up to more than 100 because some charges allege multiple bases.

“Over the past year, EEOC removed barriers to hire and obtained relief for thousands of people facing retaliation, unfair pay, harassment, and other forms of discrimination,” said EEOC Chair Jenny Yang. “At the same time, we demonstrated our strong commitment to working with employers to voluntarily resolve charges of discrimination by achieving the highest mediation and conciliation success rates in our history.”