The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has made state-by-state workplace bias charge data available online. Here’s why that’s good news for HR pros.
Seyfarth Shaw attorneys Christopher DeGroff and Matthew Gagnon point out in a recent blog post that the statistics — available here — represent “a treasure trove of information from an agency that touts transparency, yet often keeps employers in the dark.”
The info presents number of claims broken down by bias type and percentage of state and national claims for the years 2009-2011.
The new data is valuable for two reasons, say DeGroff and Gagnon:
Company experience. Companies that keep track of their own charge data can compare their personal info to the state at large. If a firm’s charge patterns are different from the rest of the region, it could signal an area of concern for the company.
Enforcement patterns. The data can shed light on the EEOC agenda, showing where the agency’s programs have been effective and which types of bias they’re investigating in which state.
A couple highlights of the data, cited by DeGroff and Gagnon:
- Texas and Florida grabbed the top two spots in terms of numbers of bias charges brought between 2009 and 2011. Texas accounted for 10% of all national EEOC charge filings, and 15% of the country’s religion and national origin claims.
- South Dakota experienced the greatest uptick in discrimination charges from 2009 to 2011 (up 81% between 2009 to 2011), and Montana experienced the greatest decrease in charge filings (down 43% from 2009 to 2011).
