Each year, our team at Seyfarth analyzes every EEOC case filing—as well as EEOC-related legal decisions from around the country—to compile the definitive A-Z desk reference for "everything EEOC." As we turn the page into 2024, we are pleased to announce the publication of Seyfarth Shaw's2024 Edition of its EEOC-Initiated Litigation Report.
This year's Report comes amidst a surge in EEOC lawsuit filings following notable personnel changes at the Commission. In the last Fiscal Year alone, the EEOC launched a 52% increase in merit filings, going from 95 cases in FY 2022 to 144 in FY 2023, with no signs of slowing down in the near future. Not coincidentally, the Senate confirmed a Biden-appointed Commissioner in FY 2023, giving the EEOC its first Democratic majority in years, and a new General Counsel. Seyfarth's 2024 Report examines the forces underlying this dramatic increase in litigation activity, in addition to other recent trends important for employers, such as:
- The balance of power shift to a Democratic majority, which includes the confirmation of a new Commissioner and a new General Counsel;
- The EEOC's adoption of a new Strategic Enforcement Plan identifying the Commission's substantive goals for the next five years;
- The Commission's implementation of a new strategic blueprint for how the EEOC intends to achieve its substantive goals;
- Assessing and forecasting the nature of the claims asserted in EEOC lawsuits, as well as an overview of claims most commonly alleged in charges filed by workers themselves;
- Demystifying the EEOC's litigation approach, including analyses by geography, legal theories, and industries;
- A detailed tutorial on EEOC case resolution, including a study of EEOC conciliations, Consent Decrees, informal settlement agreements, and an EEOC trial recap. We also dive into the EEOC's resurgence of using publicity and the media to advance its agenda.
- To read about these trends in more detail, access the entire Seyfarth 2024 EEOC-Initiated Litigation Report HERE.
Stay tuned to the Workplace Class Action Blog for more EEOC analysis, as the Seyfarth team continues to track and report on all EEOC activity. For more information on the EEOC or how the Commission's activity affects your business, contact the Report's editors – Christopher DeGroff and Andrew Scroggins – or a member of Seyfarth's Complex Discrimination Litigation Group.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.