After being delayed a month due to a 16-day government shutdown, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has released its much-anticipated Performance and Accountability Report (PAR) for Fiscal Year 2013. The PAR summarizes the agency’s assessment of its program and financial performance for the fiscal year, including the number of private sector charges received, federal lawsuits filed, and monetary awards recovered.  A more detailed breakdown of the EEOC’s charge statistics will be released in the beginning of 2014.  Highlights of the PAR include the following:

Private Sector Charges and Pending Inventory

• A total of 93,727 charges were filed with the EEOC in FY 2013.  According to the PAR, this number is a decrease by about 6,000 charges from the prior three fiscal years.
• The private sector charge inventory increased by 469 charges.

Administrative Claims Resolution

• A total of 97,252 charges were resolved in FY 2013, which the PAR indicates is a drop of nearly 14,000.  The EEOC attributed this decline to reduced staffing numbers.  A total of 1,437 charges were resolved through conciliations. 
• A record award amount – $372.1 million – was secured through mediation, conciliation and other administrative enforcement.  This figure is $6.7 million more than was recovered in FY 2012.

Litigation

• The EEOC resolved 209 merits lawsuits in federal district courts, obtaining $39 million in monetary relief for charging parties through litigation.  Of these resolutions, 135 contained Title VII claims, 59 contained Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) claims, 16 contained Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) claims, four contained Equal Pay Act (EPA) claims, and one contained Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) claims.
• Thirteen cases made it to trial in FY 2013.  Eleven of these trials were heard before juries.  The EEOC was victorious in nine of the 11 jury trials, resolved one by consent decree, and lost the remaining bench trial.
• A total of 131 merits lawsuits were filed in FY 2013.  Of these lawsuits, 89 were individual actions; 21 were non-systemic class suits, and 21 were systemic suits.
• Of these new cases, 78 contained Title VII claims, 51 contained ADA claims, seven contained ADEA claims, five contained EPA claims, and three contained GINA claims.
• By the end of the fiscal year, 231 cases remained on the EEOC’s active docket.  Of these pending suits, 46 (20%) were non-systemic class cases and 54 (23%) involved challenges to systemic discrimination.

Systemic Cases

• The agency filed 21 systemic lawsuits in FY 2013.
• The EEOC resolved 29 systemic cases, seven of which included at least 50 alleged victims of discrimination and 14 of which included at least 20 alleged victims of discrimination.
• EEOC field offices completed 300 systemic investigations, resulting in 63 settlements or conciliation agreements, and $40 million in awards for more than 8,300 individuals. 
• The EEOC issued 106 reasonable cause determinations in systemic investigations during FY 2013.

Littler’s Annual Report on EEOC Developments for Fiscal Year 2013 – which provides a comprehensive overview of significant EEOC cases, regulatory developments, and other activities – will be issued in January 2014.