Discrimination Cases Increased in 2007 and 2008

Workplace and other discrimination on the basis of skin color and other invidious motivations are a very serious problem in the United States. Just within the Federal Government regarding 2008,

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today released the Annual Report on the Federal Work Force for Fiscal Year (FY) 2008, which shows small increases in discrimination complaint filings against federal agencies and in average complaint processing time government-wide.

The annual report informs and advises the President and the Congress on the state of equal employment opportunity (EEO) throughout the federal government. Data in the report, available online at www.eeoc.gov, are presented both in individual agency profiles and in government-wide aggregate form.

According to the comprehensive report, 16,752 complaints alleging employment discrimination were filed against the federal government in FY 2008 – up 2.4 percent from the prior year. EEO complaints were filed against agencies on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, religion, age, disability and reprisal. Pre-complaint counseling and alternative dispute resolution (ADR) programs addressed many employee concerns before they resulted in formal EEO complaints. Of the 38,898 instances of counseling in FY 2008, more than half did not result in a formal complaint being filed.

Agencies completed a total of 11,157 EEO complaint investigations in FY 2008 with an average processing time of 180 days, an increase of four days from FY 2007. Of the 7,538 cases closed on the merits, 2.5% resulted in findings of unlawful discrimination. In addition, the parties entered into settlements in 3,249 complaints, or 19.5% of the total complaint closures. Agencies paid out a total of over $50 million in monetary benefits to complainants (including appellate decisions).

“Federal agencies must step up their efforts to improve complaint processing time, while also focusing on quality results,” said EEOC Acting Chairman Stuart J. Ishimaru.

And those are just the 2008 discrimination complaints against the Federal Government!

According to Ethisphere.com,

2007 was a Record Year for EEOC Complaints in General

March 06, 2008

In 2007, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) received the highest amount of discrimination complaints in five years, the agency reported yesterday. The EEOC noted it received approximately 7,000 more complaints in 2007 than 2006, about a nine percent increase. According to a report by Business Insurance, that’s the highest percentage increase in complaints since 1993.

The most common filed complaints deal with the most obvious: race, retaliation and gender. Those complaints came in at about 35,000 (up 12% from 2006), 26,600 (up 18%) and 24,800 (up 7%) respectively. The next most common complaints were age, disability, national origin and religion, according to Business Insurance. A full breakdown of the charges can be found here.

“Corporate America needs to do a better job of proactively preventing discrimination and addressing complaints promptly and effectively,” said Commission Chair Naomi C. Earp in a statement on the EEOC’s website. To ensure that equality of opportunity becomes a reality in the 21st century workplace, employers need to place a premium on fostering inclusive and discrimination-free work environments for all individuals.”