Workplace Discrimination Cases Hit Record High: EEOC

January 6, 2010

Washington - The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) said it has received 93,277 discrimination complaints filed by workers from private sector last year, the second-highest number in the agency’s history.

According to the agency’s data, age-related discrimination charges have also reached all-time high.

In addition, records show that 36 percent of charges were based on race and national origin discrimination; 36 percent were based on retaliation; and 30 percent were based on gender discrimination. (The total of percentages exceeded 100 since some individuals have charged several types of discrimination in a single filing.)

In its press release, EEOC said it has resolved 85,980 discrimination charges last year, allowing victims to receive more than $376 million monetary relief.

Under federal law, it is prohibited to discriminate workers based on gender, age, disability, and religion, race, color of the skin, and national origin.

To further protect workers from discrimination, the government has recently passed a federal law that prohibits employers and insurance providers to discriminate workers based on their genetic information or force them to undergo a genetic testing to know their medical condition.