On February 4, 2015, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released enforcement and litigation statistics for fiscal year 2014.  A total of 88,778 workplace discrimination charges were filed in 2014, which is down slightly from prior years.  Retaliation charges were at an all-time high and comprised nearly 43% of all charges.  Thirty-five percent of charges alleged race discrimination, while 29% claimed discrimination based on sex, which includes pregnancy and sexual harassment.  The EEOC’s enforcement activities resulted in almost $300 million over the last year.

The data also indicates that the EEOC’s Office of General Counsel was busy in 2014, filing a total of 133 lawsuits on the merits against employers across the country.  The EEOC secured $22.5 billion in monetary relief through litigation and mediation.

Finally, the EEOC released updated statistics on a state-by-state basis.  Texas led all states with more than 8,000 charges.   Tennessee charges increased to 3,221, while charges in Kentucky, Indiana and Mississippi decreased to 975, 2,700, and 1,781, respectively.