The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is a federal agency responsible for enforcing various federal laws that protect employees from discrimination. Just a few of the federal laws it enforces include Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, The Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA), and The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA). Each fiscal year, the EEOC releases data regarding how many charges of employment discrimination are filed through their agency. The EEOC 2021 statistics were recently released, showing that there were 61,331 charges filed during the fiscal year, which is down from the 67,448 charges they received during fiscal year 2020.
The EEOC’s data shows how many charges it receives for race, sex, national origin, religion, color, age, and disability discrimination, as well as violations of the EPA and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Discrimination Act (GINA). Charges filed with the EEOC also involve all charges of retaliation and retaliation related to Title VII only. Some employees may file multiple charges if they’ve experienced more than one type of discrimination, such as a combination of age discrimination and retaliation.
The EEOC received charges for each type of discrimination during FY 2021, but which charges occurred most frequently? Here were the most common charges received from the past fiscal year.
Retaliation
Retaliation has been the most commonly filed charge with the EEOC over recent years, a trend that continued in 2021. The EEOC received 34,332 charges of retaliation during the fiscal year, making up 56.0% percent of all charges filed with them in FY 2021. They received 25,121 charges of retaliation regarding Title VII during FY 2021, making up 41.0% of the charges filed with it.
Disability
During FY 2021, the EEOC received 22,843 charges of disability discrimination, 37.2% of the charges filed with it. This is down slightly from the previous fiscal year when they received 24,324 charges of disability discrimination.
Race
There were 20,908 charges of race discrimination filed with the EEOC. This was 34.1% percent of the charges filed with it. The EEOC received 22,064 charges of race discrimination during the previous fiscal year.
Sex
The EEOC received 18,762 charges of sex discrimination during FY 2021, which made up 30.6% of the charges filed with it. There were 21,398 charges of sex discrimination filed during FY 2020.
Age
There were 12,965 charges of age discrimination during FY 2021, 21.1% of all the charges filed with the EEOC. During FY 2020, there were 14,183 charges of age discrimination.
Contact an NYC Employment Discrimination Lawyer for Help
Despite a lower number of charges filed during FY 2021, the EEOC helped obtain a larger amount of monetary benefits for those who experienced employment discrimination. With tens of thousands of people filing charges with the EEOC each year, you’re not alone in suffering from employment discrimination. If you’ve experienced any type of discrimination in your workplace, the employment discrimination lawyers at Brown Kwon & Lam can help.
Contact us today if you believe you’ve been discriminated against at work.