According to detailed enforcement and litigation statistics for fiscal year (FY) 2016 (October 1, 2015 – September 30, 2016) released recently by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the percentage of charges alleging disability discrimination continues to increase, with allegations of disability discrimination surpassing the percentage of charges alleging sex discrimination for the second year in a row. The number of charges filed alleging discrimination related to gender identity and/or sexual orientation also continued to rise in FY 2016.
Not surprisingly, consistent with the trend in recent years, the data show that retaliation was once again the most commonly filed charge, with almost half of all charges filed now including allegations of retaliation. Race discrimination allegations held their place as the second most common charge.
On the litigation front, EEOC lawyers filed the fewest number of merits lawsuits in at least 20 years. The 86 merits suits filed this past year compare to 261 merits suits filed as recently as 2011.
The EEOC’s detailed FY 2016 charge and litigation data are available online here.
Members of the Equal Employment Advisory Council (EEAC) can read more here.