The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced that private sector workplace discrimination charge filings with the national agency hit an exceptional level–99,922 charges–during the 2010 fiscal year, which closed Sept. 30, 2010.
According to the 2010 data, the EEOC resolved 104,999 private sector charges. It secured more than $404 million in financial benefits for victims–the highest amount ever obtained by the Commission through the administrative process. “Discrimination continues to be a substantial problem for too many job seekers and workers, and we must continue to build our capacity to enforce the laws that ensure that workplaces are free of unlawful bias,†said EEOC Chair Jacqueline A. Berrien, in a press release.
The rise in charge filings is linked to various factors including economic conditions, employees’ awareness of the law and increased diversity and demographic shifts in the work force.
Since 1965, race has been the most frequently filed charge, but data show retaliation exceeded race as the most frequent allegation.
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