All major categories of charges increased
For the first time,retaliation charges filed under all statutes surpassed race as the most frequently filed charge and comprised 36.3% of the total. The 36,258 retaliation charges increased 7.9% over the previous year. Some 35,890 race-related charges were filed, which was 35.9% of the total and a 6.9% increase over the previous year. Other charge categories, and their percentage of the total filed, were: sex, 29.1%; disability, 25.2%; age, 23.3%; national origin, 11.3%; religion 3.8%, Equal Pay Act, 2%; and Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, 0.2%.
The EEOC published final regulations to implement Title II of GINA, which prohibits using genetic information in making employment decisions, in the Federal Register in November.
The EEOC said the surge in charges may be due to several factors, including economic conditions, increased diversity and demographic shifts in the labor force, employees' greater awareness of the law, improvements in the EEOC's intake practices and consumer service, and greater accessibility to the public. The EEOC also said it ended fiscal 2010 with 86,338 pending charges, an increase of less than 1% over the previous year.
"The latest data tell us that as the first decade of the 21st century comes to a close, the commission's work is far from finished," said Stuart J. Ishimaru, acting EEOC chairman, in a statement. "Employers must step up their efforts to foster discrimination-free and inclusive workplaces or risk enforcement and litigation by the EEOC."
For more information on enforcement and litigation statistics from the EEOC, visit www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/statistics/enforcement/index.cfm.
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