According to a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) press release, the EEOC received a record number of private sector 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 alleging violations of the substantive provisions of the statutes enforced by the EEOC and suits to enforce administrative settlements.