U.S. Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission
The Commission's litigation program provides relief for victims of discrimination, many of whom have no other recourse, and also encourages employers to resolve cases in the EEOC's administrative process before litigation is contemplated.
The Commission’s litigation program is conducted by the agency’s Office of General Counsel (OGC). In FY 2009, EEOC field legal units filed 281 merits lawsuits and 32 subpoena enforcement and other actions. Of these new filings, 170 were individual suits and 111 were class suits. Legal staff resolved 319 merits lawsuits for a total monetary recovery of $80,628,935. (“Merits” lawsuits include direct suits and interventions alleging violations of the substantive provisions of the statutes enforced by the Commission and suits to enforce administrative settlements.) Of these resolutions, 249 contained Title VII claims, 40 contained Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 claims, 38 contained Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 claims, and five contained Equal Pay Act of 1964 claims. The number of total merits lawsuits is less than the sum of suits based on each individual law as some suits are filed on multiple bases. The Commission also resolved 28 subpoena enforcement and other actions during the fiscal year.
In terms of dollars recovered in direct, indirect and intervention lawsuits by statute, EEOC recovered $63,415,742 in Title VII resolutions, $6,745,543 in ADEA resolutions, $9,548,761 in ADA resolutions, $20,000 in EPA resolutions and $898,889 in resolutions involving more than one statute. At the end of FY 2009, the number of cases on the EEOC’s active docket involving multiple aggrieved parties or challenges to discriminatory employment policies was 226, or 46% of the total year-end caseload.