Retaliation most cited EEOC charge in FY 2018

Retaliation charges accounted for the largest number of charges filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Commission in fiscal 2018 for the eighth consecutive year, representing more than half of the total charges filed.

But the number of total charges filed with the agency decreased by 9.3% to 76,418, compared with a 7.9% decline in fiscal 2017.

A total of 39,469 retaliation charges were filed with the agency in fiscal year 2018, which ended Sept. 28, which accounted for 51.6% of the total charges filed. It was a 4% decrease, though, from the 41,097 charges filed in fiscal year 2017, when they accounted for 48.8% of the total.

Following retaliation, sex was the second-most frequent charge filed with the agency in fiscal year 2018, at 24,655, or 32.3% of the total. This was a change from fiscal year 2017, when race was the second-most frequent charge.

Other charges were: disability, 24,605, or 32.2% of the total; race, 24,600, or 32.2% of the total; age, 16,911, or 22.1% of the total; national origin, 7,106, or 9.3% of the total; color, 3,166, or 4.1% of the total; religion, 2,859, or 3.7% of the total; Equal Pay Act, 1,066, or 1.4% of the total; and genetic information, 220 or 0.3% of the total.

The EEOC had previously reported that it had received 7,609 sexual harassment charges in fiscal year 2018, which was a 13.6% increase from fiscal year 2017.