By: Gerald L. Maatman, Jr.Christopher DeGroffMatthew J. Gagnon, and Alex S. Oxyer

Seyfarth Synopsis: The EEOC recently released its enforcement and litigation statistics for Fiscal Year 2020. Notably, the statistics indicate that 2020 saw a dramatic drop in filed charges, with the lowest number of charges filed in over 20 years. For example, despite the #MeToo movement remaining an enforcement priority for the Commission in 2020, the number of gender discrimination charges fell even lower than last year, which was the lowest number since 1997. However, monetary benefits recovered by the Commission in FY 2020 surged. Given the flip of the White House from red to blue and the commitment of the Biden Administration to enhanced enforcement of workplace bias laws, the EEOC’s enforcement data is a “must-read” for all employers.  

On February 26, 2021, the EEOC released its comprehensive enforcement and litigation statistics for Fiscal Year 2020 (available here). In addition to enforcement and litigation activity, the data breaks down charge statistics by allegation and state – showing which charges are being filed and where. The dip in the number of charges that employers saw in 2018 and 2019 continued through 2020, with the number of charges reaching its lowest point since 1997. The prominence of gender discrimination charges seen in 2018 due to the #MeToo movement has all but disappeared, with sex discrimination charges remaining in the fourth-place position and dropping to their lowest number in over 20 years.

Charges Were Down Overall

In total, 67,448 charges were filed in FY 2020, down from 72,675 charges filed in FY 2019 and 76,418 charges that filed in FY 2018. FY 2019 previously saw the fewest charges filed for all fiscal years going back to FY 1997 (the second lowest, 75,428 charges, occurred in FY 2005). Putting these numbers in perspective, the number of charges filed exceeded 80,000 per year in every year from FY 2007 until FY 2018, sometimes by wide margins.

Consistent with this overall decline, there was a decrease in almost every category of charges in FY 2020 as compared to FY 2019, with the exception of a modest increase in charges alleging claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), charges alleging claims of color discrimination under Title VII,  and, most notably, charges alleging claims under the Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act (“GINA”), which doubled since FY 2019 and reached the highest number of charges filed since the Act was passed in 2008. The categories that decreased the most were race and sex discrimination. That this does not necessarily mean that fewer individuals are reaching out to the EEOC. This dip could be attributed, at least in part, to the agency’s implementation of new charge intake procedures in an effort to increase efficiencies or as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The dramatic change in workplace environments could have also contributed to the charge drop.

Texas And Florida Are Still Hot Spots, And Illinois Falls From The Top Five

Looking at the states where the most charges were filed, the hot spots largely remained the same in FY 2020 as in FY 2019 and 2018. Like FY 2019, Texas (with 10.2 % of all charges filed) and Florida (with 8.7%) were the top two states for charges in FY 2020.

Texas and Florida are no surprise, given their relative populations.

But population is still not everything when it comes to charges. For example, Pennsylvania (at number 3) and Georgia (at number 5, behind California) have more charges filed than New York. Notably, Illinois remained out of the top five states this year, at sixth place with 5.5% of all charges filed.

Retaliation Charges Remain Predominate, With Disability Discrimination Charges Remaining At Second

In total, 37,632 retaliation charges were filed with the EEOC in FY 2020. As has been the case for over six years, this made retaliation the most frequently filed charge in FY 2020. Behind retaliation were disability, race, and sex discrimination charges, each alleged in approximately 32%-36% of the charges filed with the EEOC. As the EEOC’s report noted, the percentages total more than 100 because some charges allege multiple bases of discrimination.

Disability discrimination was again the second-most-often alleged theory of discrimination, seeing the highest percentage of charges filed since 1997 at 36.1%. Race discrimination came in a close third. Interestingly, sex discrimination charges (which would include pregnancy discrimination, gender discrimination, and sexual harassment) remained as the fourth most frequently filed charge, which was where it was in FY 2017, despite continued media attention on such issues.

EEOC Saw A Surge in Overall Recoveries

As we reported here, during FY 2020, the EEOC recovered a record amount of $535.4 million on behalf of alleged discrimination victims. By comparison, the EEOC recovered approximately $486 million in FY 2019; approximately $505 million in FY 2018; and approximately $484 million in FY 2017. However, despite the EEOC’s efforts to enhance and improve its mediation and conciliation programs during FY 2020, the amount recovered through mediation, conciliation, and settlement dropped again from $354 million in FY 2019 to $333.2 million in FY 2020. Conversely, litigation recoveries increased from $39.1 million in FY 2019 to $106 million, the highest in 16 years. The EEOC credits this surge in litigation recovery to its resolution of 165 lawsuits in FY 2020 and states that it achieved “favorable results” in approximately 96% of district court resolutions.

Implications For Employers

Despite the dips in the overall number of charges, the EEOC’s enforcement efforts should not be considered as waning. Employers should treat these statistics as an early warning system that shows where the Commission’s enforcement efforts may be heading next – to that end, it is notable that retaliation and disability discrimination issues are firmly in the forefront, particularly in light of the issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. By continuing to set the culture in their workplaces with sound human resources practices, employers can guard against these issues and avoid hefty settlements and litigation with the EEOC.