EEOC 2020 Report Retaliation, Disability Claims Predominate
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) 2020 Enforcement and Litigation Report tallies its workplace discrimination charges processed between October, 2019 through September, 2020.
Retaliation charges top the list as they have in recent years, with 37,632 claims constituting 55 percent of the 67,448 charges the EEOC received, followed by disability, race, sex and age.
The EEOC recovered just over $106 million for claimants over the reporting period, resolving 165 lawsuits and filing 93 new ones.
Retaliation and disability also top the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing’s (DFEH) latest list of complaints filed for 2019. The DFEH received 22,584 complaints that year, settling 710 cases for a total $14,834,753.
An educated workforce is management’s best frontline defense to prevent unlawful practices, including regular “zero-tolerance” sexual harassment training. California law requires two hours of such training for managers, supervisors and executives and one hour for non-supervisory employees every two years. See, Deadline Nigh: January 1, 2021 – Workplace Harassment Prevention Training Webinar (November 2021).
Thorough training should cover all forms of discrimination, harassment and retaliation, including for example race, gender, religion, age, sexual preference, national origin, and disability.
Another essential is up-to-date anti-discrimination, harassment and retaliation policies to promote and maintain a professional and productive work environment.
For more information, please contact Tim Bowles, Cindy Bamforth or Helena Kobrin.
See also:
- Workplace Discrimination Prevention-California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act, A History (March 26,2021)
- Live and Let Live – Preventing Political Backlash in the Workplace (October 23, 2020)
- Cautionary Tale Episode 37: Workplace Culture Clash – California Challenges Cisco Systems for Color (“Caste-Based”) Discrimination (September 4, 2020)
Helena Kobrin
April 16, 2021