The EEOC received 37,334 charges of retaliation in 2011 -- a record.

This is a guest blog entry by David L. Woodard and Danielle M. Barbour, lawyers with Poyner Spruill in Raleigh, NC.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission received a record number of charges of employment discrimination in fiscal year 2011. This marks the second year in a row that charges of discrimination filed with the EEOC hit an all-time high.

The EEOC received a total of 99,947 charges of discrimination in fiscal year 2011, a slight increase from the year before. Like in fiscal year 2010, charges alleging retaliation were the most numerous, representing 37.4 percent of all charges filed. Charges of race discrimination followed, with 35,395 charges representing 35.4 percent of the total charges filed.

In fiscal year 2011, the EEOC filed 300 lawsuits and 261 “merits” lawsuits, which include direct suits and interventions charging violations of the statutes enforced by the EEOC and lawsuits to enforce administrative settlements.

Please see full article below for more information.