EEOC Releases Annual Performance Report for Fiscal Year 2022

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today released its report on the agency’s performance during the 2022 fiscal year (FY). The report highlights the EEOC’s efforts during a time of increasing demand for equal employment services among the American public. 

In pursuit of its mission to advance equal employment opportunity, the EEOC focused on several major areas during FY 2022, including addressing systemic discrimination, advancing racial justice in the workplace, enforcing pay equity, and addressing the use of artificial intelligence in employment decisions.

“The EEOC was created as a result of a strong national commitment to civil rights and continues to prove that the causes of justice and equality are greater than hatred, division, and bigotry,” said EEOC Chair Charlotte A. Burrows. “That legacy and our work are critically important to the American people and to this administration as we rebuild the economy to work for everyone and fulfill our nation’s promise of equal opportunity for all.”

The agency marked several significant accomplishments in FY 2022. Notably, the agency obtained more than $513 million in monetary benefits for victims of discrimination, an increase from the previous fiscal year; resolved over 65,000 charges of discrimination; and conducted more than 3,000 free outreach events reaching almost 220,000 individuals. In the federal sector, the agency resolved 9,336 hearings, recovered more than $132 million for federal workers and applicants, and significantly reduced the federal hearing inventory by 25% from FY 2021 to FY 2022. 

The EEOC focused its outreach and education efforts on reaching vulnerable workers and underserved communities, including immigrant and farmworker communities, as well as other communities where individuals may be unaware of their rights or reluctant to come forward to complain about employment discrimination. Agency staff hosted more than 1,000 events for vulnerable workers and reached nearly 80,000 individuals—an increase in both the number of events and the people reached.

At the same time, the EEOC worked to manage an increased demand for services from the public as the nation emerged from the pandemic. In FY 2022, the agency received 73,485 new discrimination charges, which represents an increase of almost 20% when compared to the previous fiscal year. The agency also handled more than 475,000 calls —an 18% increase from FY 2021—and managed 32% more emails from the public than the previous year. To help manage the increased demand and strengthen the agency’s ability to prevent and remedy employment discrimination, the EEOC specifically focused on growing its workforce to meet growing requests for its assistance by filling 352 new positions and 500 total staff vacancies in FY 2022, the majority of which were in frontline positions.

In conjunction with the Annual Performance Report, the agency also released its Office of General Counsel (OGC) Annual Report for FY 2022 describing the agency’s litigation achievements. In FY 2022, the EEOC filed 91 employment discrimination lawsuits including 53 suits seeking relief for individuals, 25 non-systemic suits with multiple victims, and 13 systemic suits. In addition, the Agency resolved 96 employment discrimination lawsuits including 10 systemic suits —obtaining just under $40 million in monetary relief for 1,461 individuals. The report includes detailed litigation statistics and summaries of notable resolutions.

The EEOC advances opportunity in the workplace by enforcing federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. More information is available at www.eeoc.gov. Stay connected with the latest EEOC news by subscribing to our email updates.