EEOC releases statistics for fiscal year 2009 - discrimination complaints second highest in history

The United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has released its statistical figures for Fiscal Year 2009, which ended September 30, 2009. The total number of discrimination charges filed with the EEOC this past year (93,277) was the second highest in the agency’s history. Additionally, the EEOC obtained over $376 million in monetary relief for victims this year.

As has been the trend for more than a decade, the most frequently filed charges were discrimination based on race and retaliation, followed by sex-based discrimination. The EEOC saw an increase in private sector job bias charges based on disability, religion and/or national origin. Religion discrimination claims rose approximately one percent, while national origin claims rose by about five percent.

Disability discrimination charges rose by approximately ten percent, which was the largest increase in any category. This is likely due, in part, to changes to the Americans with Disabilities Act last year that made it easier for people with certain medical conditions, such as epilepsy, to claim they are disabled.

The EEOC attributes the rise in discrimination charges to several factors. These factors include: greater accessibility of the EEOC to the public, economic conditions, increased diversity and demographic shifts in the labor force, employees’ greater awareness of their rights under the law, and changes to the agency’s intake practices.