The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently published the 2015 enforcement and litigation data and the news was not good. The number of EEOC resolved charges rose to 92,641 charges in FY 2015, and the agency secured more than $525 million for victims of discrimination in private sector and state and local government workplaces through voluntary resolutions and litigation.
The #1 type of claim filed was “Retaliation”, with a staggering 39,757 charges filed (representing 44.5% of all charges filed). The odds of a lawsuit by a current or former employee for retaliation is a real, and serious, threat for employers of all sizes.
It is important to note as well that in January 2016, the EEOC released proposed guidance to overhaul its regulatory interpretation of the standards for proving retaliation under the various civil rights laws including Title VII, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Rehabilitation Act, and the Equal Pay Act.