The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced yesterday that it had a record number of complaints filed in Fiscal Year 2010 (which ended September 30, 2010). 

Of the 99,922 complaints filed with the EEOC in 2010, the top four categories were retaliation, race, disability,  and age.  There were 201 claims filed under the Genetic Information Act (GINA) in 2010, which was the first year of the statute’s enforcement.

Also in FY 2010, the EEOC filed 201 lawsuits on behalf of individuals claiming discrimination, and collected $404 million in damages through lawsuits and administrative charges. 

The EEOC attributes the rise in the number of claims upon the difficult job market and the agency’s outreach efforts.