EEOC Releases Claim Stats for 2020 - And How You May Avoid Becoming One in 2021

The EEOC released its Annual Performance Report detailing a series of performance statistics, including the number and types of claims it pursued on behalf of workers in 2020 and the millions it recovered from employers.

In 2020, the EEOC filed just 93 lawsuits against employers, which was down significantly from the 144 suits filed in 2019, and 199 in 2018.* The top five claims in 2020 were:

• Sex (37)
• Disability (29)
• Retaliation (26)
• Race (13)
• Age (7)

Notably, however, the amount of money recovered for workers was significantly higher than in 2019. The EEOC recovered $333.2 million in pre-litigation settlements and $106 million in litigation. In 2019, the EEOC recovered in total just $39.1 million, nearly three times less than in 2020.

Discrimination in the workplace continues to cost employers millions of dollars every year. What can you do?

• Know the various laws and regulations that apply to you and have solid company policies that are followed.
• Build a positive and inclusive work culture.
• Educate and train employees. (A series of webinars, including anti-discrimination and harassment training, are available on MyFrankCrum. Go to MyResources > Webinar-Training).
• Reach out to your FrankAdvice HR Consultant regarding employee relations issues to help limit claim opportunities. 

*These are the lawsuits that the EEOC filed against employers and does not include 2020 statistics on the thousands of workplace discrimination charges filed with the EEOC by individuals each year. More to come on this after the EEOC releases charge statistics for FY 2020. Stay tuned.