Not sure if this is good or bad news: The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has greatly reduced its backlog of discrimination complaints.
And it’s not because the number of complaints has diminished. The agency received a record 99,922 charges in FY 2010, which ended Sept. 30. That’s the highest number in the EEOC’s 45-year history.
A couple of years ago, the EEOC announced plans to beef up its investigative staff, and apparently the agency’s made good on its word. The EEOC ended FY 2010 with 86,338 pending charges — an increase of only 570 charges, or less than 1%. Between fiscal years 2008 and 2009, the EEOC’s backlog increased 15.9%.
A couple of the benchmarks the EEOC’s crowing about over the past year:
- The mediation program ended the year with a record 9,370 resolutions, 10 percent more than FY 2009 levels, and more than $142 million in monetary benefits
- The agency continued its concerted effort to build a strong national systemic enforcement program. At the end of the fiscal year, 465 systemic investigations, involving more than 2,000 charges, were being undertaken.
So we’re kind of torn here. We’re all for governmental efficiency. But we’re not sure we’re all that happy to hear that EEOC’s even more revved up about investigating employers.
Another good reason to make sure your anti-discrimination training program’s up and running strong.
