The number of private sector employment charges received by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission fell for the second consecutive year during fiscal year 2014, a performance report released by the agency last week reveals.

The Performance and Accountability Report (PAR) for the fiscal year ended Sept. 30 indicates that there were 88,788 charge receipts during the year. The drop of nearly 5,000 charges from FY 2013 represented a 5.3 percent decline.

During FY 2013, the EEOC fielded 93,727 charges, representing a nearly 6 percent drop from FY 2012.

In FY 2010, charge statistics soared to near 100,000 and stayed over 99,000 in 2011 and 2012.

The PAR does not break done charge statistics by type (race, sex, national origin, retaliation, etc.) but in recent years retaliation claims have been the leading type.

In a statement about the report, the EEOC noted that the agency continued to make progress toward accomplishing its goals and fulfilling its mission during FY 2014 in spite of the lingering effects of sequestration and the government shutdown in 2013.

“Despite these hurdles, the employees of the EEOC remain committed to meeting the needs, addressing the challenges, and seizing upon the opportunities of the 21st century workforce,” said EEOC Chair Jenny R. Yang. “Increased hiring achieved at the end of FY 2014 and investments in technology should enable us to more effectively investigate charges in a timely fashion, while also improving the quality of our intake and investigations,” she said.

• During FY 2014, a total of 87,442 charges were resolved, 9,810 fewer than in FY 2013, which is likely due to the government shutdown and the effects of sequestration, the EEOC.
• While a hiring freeze and attrition shrunk the number of agency staff between FY 2012 and FY 2013, the agency hired more than 300 staff at the end of FY 2014, adding needed resources to improve service to workers and employers in investigating and resolving charges of discrimination.
• The EEOC secured $296.1 million in monetary relief for victims of employment discrimination in private sector and state and local government workplaces through mediation, conciliation and other administrative enforcement.
• The EEOC also secured $22.5 million in monetary relief for charging parties through litigation, and $74 million in monetary relief for federal employees and applicants.
• In each of these categories, the agency obtained substantial targeted equitable relief to remedy violations of equal employment opportunity laws and prevent future discriminatory conduct in the workplace.
• In FY 2014, the EEOC’s national mediation program secured 7,846 mediated resolutions out of 10,221 conducted. The agency obtained $144.6 million in benefits for individuals through mediations.
• EEOC filed 133 merits lawsuits during FY 2014. This included 105 individual suits, 11 nonsystemic class suits, and 17 systemic suits.
• –At the end of the fiscal year, the EEOC had 228 cases on its active docket.

The agency continues to build a strong national systemic enforcement program. During the fiscal year, the agency completed 260 systemic investigations, resulting in 78 settlements and conciliation agreements securing approximately $13 million in monetary relief.

Systemic lawsuits comprised 13 percent of all merits suit filings, and by the end of the year, represented 25 percent of all active merits suits, the largest proportion of systemic suits on EEOC’s active docket since tracking began in FY 2006.

The EEOC’s FY 2014 PAR is posted on the agency’s web site at http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/plan/2014par.pdf.

Source: EEOC