What Were the Most Common Charges of Discrimination Filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in 2019 and 2020? Were There More or Less Discrimination Charges Filed with EEOC in 2020 as Compared to 2019?

EEOC Statistics for 2019 and 2020 Show Little Has Changed

Claims of Retaliation by Far the Most Common Filed With EEOC in 2020

Here is the List of Most Common Charges Filed With the EEOC in 2020:

The F[iscal] Y[ear] 2020 data show that retaliation remained the most frequently cited claim in charges filed with the agency—accounting for a staggering 55.8 percent of all charges filed—followed by disability, race and sex. Specifically, the charge numbers show the following categories of discrimination, in descending order of frequency:

Retaliation: 37,632 (55.8 percent of all charges filed)
Disability: 24,324 (36.1 percent)
Race: 22,064 (32.7 percent)
Sex: 21,398 (31.7 percent)
Age: 14,183 (21.0 percent)
National Origin: 6,377 (9.5 percent)
Color: 3,562 (5.3 percent)
Religion: 2,404 (3.6 percent)
Equal Pay Act: 980 (1.5 percent)
Genetic Information: 440 (0.7 percent)

What Were the Number of Retaliation, Disability, Race, Sex and Age Discrimination Claims Filed With EEOC in 2020

Altogether, there were 119,641 such Charges filed in 2020. Given that many people were out of work or working from home, it is interesting to see that....

There Were About the Same Number of Discrimination Charges Filed with EEOC in 2020 as 2019

Retaliation Charges Most Common Discrimination Charges filed With EEOC

Year In and Year Out

Here are EEOC's 2019 numbers:

The FY 2019 data show that retaliation continued to be the most frequently filed charge filed with the agency, followed by disability, race and sex. The agency also received 7,514 sexual harassment charges - 10.3 percent of all charges, and an 1.2 percent decrease from FY 2018. Specifically, the charge numbers show the following breakdowns by bases alleged, in descending order:

Retaliation: 39,110 (53.8 percent of all charges filed)
Disability: 24,238 (33.4 percent)
Race: 23,976 (33.0 percent)
Sex: 23,532 (32.4 percent)
Age: 15,573 (21.4 percent)
National Origin: 7,009 (9.6 percent)
Color: 3,415 (4.7 percent)
Religion: 2,725 (3.7 percent)
Equal Pay Act: 1,117 (1.5 percent)
Genetic Information: 209 (0.3 percent)

How Many Charges of Discrimination Based on Retaliation, Disability, Race, sex and Age Were Filed With the EEOC in 2019?

Altogether, there were 123,429 such Charges filed in 2019.

Pre- and Post-Pandemic Discrimination Charges Roughly the Same

It does not look like the Pandemic had any real significant impact on workers feeling they were subject to discrimination, whether at work or from afar!