by Art Gutman Ph.D., Professor, Florida Institute of Technology
The data, which are for private entities, were posted on 1/25/12 on the EEOC Website (click on “Enforcement and Litigation Statistics” and on sub-links for “Charge Statistics” and “All Statistics”). For purposes of exposition, the table below combines select statistics from “Charge Statistics” and “All Statistics”, and focuses on Fiscal Years 2005 through 2007 (the data on the website go back to FY 97). There are three other things to note: (1) the first two rows (Total Charges & Monetary Benefits) are in absolute numbers; (2) all other rows are percentages relative to Total Charges: and (3) percentages down the columns do not sum to 100% because plaintiffs can and often do make multiple claims (e.g., race, sex, and retaliation claims in the same case).
| Select EEOC Statistics for FY05 through FY11 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY 05 | FY 06 | FY 07 | FY 08 | FY 09 | FY 10 | FY 11 | |
| Total Charges | 75,428 | 75,768 | 82,792 | 95,402 | 93,277 | 99,922 | 99,947 |
| Monetary Benefits(in millions) | $271.6 | $229.9 | $290.6 | $274.4 | $294.2 | $319.4 | $364.7 |
| Retaliation - All Statutes | 29.5% | 29.8% | 32.3% | 34.3% | 36.0% | 36.3% | 37.4% |
| Retaliation - Title VII only | 25.8% | 25.8% | 28.3% | 30.1% | 31.0% | 31.0% | 31.4% |
| Race | 35.5% | 35.9% | 37.0% | 35.6% | 36.0% | 35.9% | 35.4% |
| Sex | 30.6% | 30.7% | 30.1% | 29.7% | 30.0% | 29.1% | 28.5% |
| National Origin | 10.7% | 11.0% | 11.4% | 11.1% | 11.9% | 11.3% | 11.8% |
| Religion | 3.1% | 3.4% | 3.5% | 3.4% | 3.6% | 3.8% | 4.2% |
| Age | 22.0% | 21.8% | 23.2% | 25.8% | 24.4% | 23.3% | 23.55% |
| Disability | 19.7% | 20.6% | 21.4% | 20.4% | 23.0% | 25.2% | 25.8% |
| Equal Pay Act | 1.3% | 1.1% | 1.0% | 1.0% | 1.0% | 1.0% | .9% |
Starting with the first two rows, the total charges received by the EEOC were little changed in 2011 as compared to 2010, but overall, there is a trend toward increasing charges from 2005 through 2011. On the other hand, there was a sizable increase in monetary benefits (i.e., money extracted from employers) in 2011, and this too is a continuation of a general trend, particularly from 2007 and 2008 through 2011.
Looking at the other rows, what stands out the most is the increase in retaliation claims to 37.4% from 36.3% in 2011, thus continuing the trend from 2005, where retaliation claims were 29.5% of total claims. Comparison of the retaliation charges for all statutes versus Title VII reveals that the vast majority of retaliation claims, as expected, occur in conjunction with Title VII. Also expected is that race and sex discrimination charges represent larger shares of charges received by the EEOC relative to other classes. Interestingly, retaliation claims (for all statutes) have outnumbered race and sex claims for two years running.
Looking at the remaining rows, age and disability claims continue to garner a sizable percentage of the total charges (23.5% and 25.8% respectively), and there were percentage increases in 2011 for national origin (11.3% to 11.8%), religion (3,8% to 4.2%), age (23.3% to 23.5%), and disability (25.2% to 25.8%), and a percentage decrease in Equal Pay Act claims (1.0% to 0.9%).