The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commissions received the highest volume of discrimination charge filings in five years in 2007, the agency reported Wednesday.
The federal agency received 82,792 private sector discrimination charges in 2007, compared with 75,768 in 2006. The 9% increase marks the largest annual increase since 1993.
Allegations of discrimination based on race, retaliation and gender remain the most frequently filed charges, according to the Washington-based EEOC's fiscal year 2007 statistics. There were 30,510 race discrimination charges filed in 2007, 12% more than in 2006.
The number of retaliation charges surpassed gender-based charges in 2007, the EEOC said. The number of retaliation charges increased 18% in 2007 to 26,663, while gender-based discrimination charges grew 7% to 24,826. The remaining charges were based on age, disability, national origin and religion.
"Corporate America needs to do a better job of proactively preventing discrimination and addressing complaints promptly and effectively," EEOC Chair Naomi C. Earp said in a statement.
The EEOC also noted that the number of sexual harassment filings in 2007 increased for the first time since 2000.There were 12,510 sexual harassment filings made in 2007, 4% more than in 2006. At the same time, a record 16% of the sexual harassment charges were filed by men, up from 9% in the early 1990s, the EEOC said.
The EEOC's fiscal year 2007 enforcement and litigation statistics are available online at www.eeoc.gov.
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