By Judy Greenwald, Crain News Service
WASHINGTON (Jan. 11, 2013) — The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) continued its focus on systemic and multiple-victim investigations and lawsuits in 2012, according to law firm Littler Mendelson P.C. in its second report on the agency.
A review of the EEOC's annual reports for fiscal years 2011 and 2012 "demonstrates that, although there was a slight increase in the number of systemic investigations, there was a dramatic increase in terms of results achieved," the Littler report said.
According to the report, the number of investigations increased to 240 in fiscal year 2012, compared with the 235 in fiscal year 2011, but the monetary recovery in 2012 totaled $36.2 million vs. 2011's $9.6 million.
The San Francisco-based firm's report said that, to support the EEOC's strategic initiative, there was more interagency coordination. In fiscal year 2012, for instance, the EEOC trained 1,492 enforcement personnel from federal, state and local agencies on techniques for investigating and analyzing violations of compensation discrimination laws.
Breakdown of claims
The report said EEOC lawsuits during the year included:
- 66 claims involving Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964;
- 45 Americans with Disabilities Act claims;
- 12 Age Discrimination in Employment Act claims; and
- Two Equal Pay Act claims.
The biggest number of lawsuits—14—were filed in Illinois, followed by 11 in California and 10 each in Michigan, North Carolina and Texas.
The EEOC also placed a strong emphasis on its mediation program, securing 8,714 mediated resolutions during the year, which was a slight decrease from fiscal year 2011's 9,831.
Sections of the report, "Annual Report on EEOC Developments: Fiscal Year 2012," further detail the scope of EEOC investigations and subpoena enforcement actions, and review noteworthy EEOC litigation and court opinions.
Copies of the report are available on Littler's website.
This report appeared in Business Insurance magazine, a Chicago-based companion publication of Tire Business.