Data published by the EEOC shows how charges of discrimination have fluctuated over the last four years for which data is currently available. During this 2020 to 2023 time period, workplace norms adjusted to the COVID-19 pandemic, which meant many workers shifted from in-person to remote work, many others lost their jobs, and some independently initiated career shifts.
According to the EEOC, the agency received 67,448 total charges of discrimination in FY2020. In FY 2021, that number dropped, reaching a low point of 61,331. From then on, total charges have increased to numbers well beyond those seen before the COVID-19 pandemic: to 73,485 in FY2022 and 81,055 in FY2023.
Of these totals, the leading types of discrimination claimed have remained steady year after year. After retaliation-based claims (which usually accompany other types of claims instead of stand alone), the leading type of charge each year was disability-based ( accounting for approximately 34 – 37% of the total charges filed), followed by race (~28% – 34%), then sex (~27% – 31%), and then age (~15 – 21%). Claims involving equal pay, Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA), color, and national origin generally accounted for the smallest numbers of claims.
One notable jump occurred with claims involving religion-based discrimination. Such claims accounted for some of the lowest numbers (less than 4% of charges) in FY2020 and FY2021, then jumped more than six-fold in FY 2022 to 13,814, or 18% of all charges, before dropping to 4,341, or 5%, in FY 2023. This spike may be explained by vaccine mandates implemented in many workplaces and workers who sought exemptions from these mandates.
Source: https://www.eeoc.gov/data/enforcement-and-litigation-statistics-0