EEOC 2013 Report Shows Record $372.1 Million Secured in Employee Monetary Relief

Author: Marta Moakley, XpertHR Legal Editor

December 20, 2013

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has released its Performance and Accountability Report (PAR), showing Fiscal Year 2013 to be a record year for securing monetary relief for employees. The EEOC secured a record $372.1 million in monetary recoveries through administrative enforcement of discrimination laws (including mediation and conciliation activities), with $39 million secured through litigation filed against private employers.

The report had been delayed due to the recent government shutdown. Jacqueline A. Berrien, Chair of the EEOC, states in her introduction to the report that it "highlights the agency's major achievements and progress toward advancing our mission to stop and remedy unlawful employment discrimination." The PAR is based on the EEOC's Strategic Plan, the adoption of which is listed as a "significant achievement" for the year by Berrien.

The Strategic Plan's first stated objective is to combat employment discrimination through strategic law enforcement. In addition to securing monetary relief through the administrative enforcement of discrimination laws, the EEOC also filed 131 lawsuits, including 21 "systemic" suits, which strategically target employers who engage in discriminatory or exclusionary patterns and practices.

The PAR also lists the EEOC's activities in the federal sector, includes the Inspector General's Statement, contains financial statements and audit reports and lists management challenges. With respect to internal management challenges, the EEOC faced several hurdles this past year with the sequestration of federal funds, the government shutdown that resulted in the workforce's week-long furlough and a hiring freeze. Despite these challenges, the EEOC continues to work toward efficient resolution of charges and complaints and to provide training and technical assistance to employers.

The PAR precedes the annual comprehensive enforcement litigation statistics report, which will be released in early 2014. In last year's report, retaliation remained the top workplace concern for employers, numbering 37,836 charges and accounting for 38.1 percent of all charges filed in the 2012 fiscal year.