In this attorney-authored article, David Goldman of Littler's San Francisco office discusses the sharp increase in private-sector discrimination charges filed with the EEOC. He provides guidelines for employers to reduce the number of discrimination charges and the punitive fines that employers incur due to these charges. "Even if a drop in claims did not occur after training, such efforts would help employers avoid punitive damages in federal discrimination litigation," says Goldman. He also indicates that if the correlation between poor economic conditions and claims is correct, then more challenges are ahead.