Discrimination charges, awards set annual records: EEOC

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission recorded a record number of discrimination charges and record value of monetary awards in fiscal 2011, the EEOC said Wednesday.

The federal agency received a record 99,947 discrimination charges in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, the highest number in its 46-year history, the EEOC said in a statement.

In fiscal 2010, the agency said it received 99,922 such charges due to factors that include economic conditions; increased diversity and demographic shifts in the labor force; employees' greater awareness of the law; and improvements in its intake practices, consumer services and public accessibility.

The EEOC said monetary benefits for victims of workplace discrimination totaled more than $364.6 million in fiscal 2011—also the highest in its history. That compares with $319 million in monetary benefits in the previous year.