Last year, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission saw a record number of discrimination claims filed against employers. Why the big jump?
First, the numbers. At the end of the last fiscal year, the EEOC reported 95,402 claims — a jump of 15% over the previous year and the most in the agency’s 44-year history. The agency said it recovered $376 million in settlements and judgments against employers as it filed 290 new lawsuits and resolved 339 suits and 81,081 non-court claims.
The EEOC doesn’t analyze the “why” but speculation rests on three main factors:
Economic conditions. When money’s tight at home or people lose their jobs or see a threat of job loss, they’re more likely to file complaints. That means companies that go through layoffs have to make sure every step of the process is buttoned up and can withstand a lawyer’s scrutiny.
Demographic changes in the workplace. This one’s tied to layoffs, too. A lot of companies have already laid off many of their younger, low-seniority workers, and now the ax is starting to hitting older workers with more seniority. They have grounds to sue — age discrimination — and often do so when they get a pink slip.
A change in complaint procedures. Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled workers don’t have to file a formal complaint with the EEOC before suing an employer for age discrimination. In the particular case, the court’s 7-2 ruling upheld the right of FedEx employees to file legal claims against the company, assisted by EEOC, even though the employees had never filed a formal charge with the agency.
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