The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission states that it resolved 97,443 employment discrimination charges in its 2016 fiscal year. The agency also collected over $482 million for discrimination victims who worked in the private sector or in local, state or federal government workplaces in Pennsylvania and the rest of the country.
The 10 employment charges addressed most frequently that year were related to retaliation, disability, sex, race, national origin, color, religion, age, the Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act and the Equal Pay Act. Retaliation accounted for almost half of the charges at 45.9 percent.
The EEOC filed 86 lawsuits against employers and resolved 139 lawsuits pertaining to employers engaging in discriminatory behavior. Fifty-five of the lawsuits that were filed had only one plaintiff, while the remaining 31 involved more than one victim or discriminatory practice.
The amount of funds obtained for the victims of discrimination include $347.9 million that was collected via settlements, mediation and conciliation for employment discrimination victims who worked in local or state government or in the private sector. Litigation was used to collect $52.2 million for discrimination victims, and federal employees and applicants received $82 million. The EEOC reports that it had 168 cases on its active docket by the end of the 2016 fiscal year. About 30 percent of the cases addressed challenges to systemic discrimination, while roughly 20 percent pertained to multiple-victim cases. The EEOC stated that 90.6 percent of all of its lawsuit resolutions had a favorable outcomes.
An attorney who practices employment law may assist clients who have been victims of workplace discrimination in the private or public sector. This may entail filing a complaint with the EEOC on behalf of clients who faced some form of discrimination or harassment due to their race, sex, disability or religion.
