As 2018 winds to a close, the EEOC has released a report showing the agency has been a busy bee in 2018.

As part of the EEOC’s 2018 Performance Accountability Report, the EEOC has made public a wide range of data regarding its activities for the 2018 fiscal year, which closed as of September 30th.  The agency has provided a snapshot of key statistics regarding its litigation and enforcement activities for the year:

• The EEOC’s legal team resolved 141 lawsuits and filed an additional 199;
• The EEOC facilitated approximately $505 million (in addition to other forms of relief) for nearly 68,000 individuals complaining of workplace discrimination; and
• In addition to working through charges and other priorities, the EEOC filed amicus briefs on important legal issues in nearly 30 significant employment discrimination cases.

The EEOC also noted it has made progress in clearing its significant backlogs of discrimination charges, with private sector employment charges reduced by nearly 20% in the 2018 fiscal year.

Beyond its enforcement and litigation portfolio, the EEOC also announced data regarding its other initiatives.  The agency noted that its launch of a national web-based inquiry/appointment component of its public portal this past fiscal year led to a 30% increase in employee inquiries (and 40,000 intake interviews).

The EEOC’s outreach and education efforts were equally robust in fiscal year 2018, with the agency conducting over 300 Respectful Workplace training programs and with total outreach efforts reaching nearly 400,000 individuals.

We would expect the EEOC to build on its momentum from fiscal year 2018 during the 2019 fiscal year.