Insight EEOC Charge Statistics for 2013

In February, the EEOC released its data regarding charges and litigation in fiscal year 2013. You can find the detailed data for 2013 and previous years here. Information about the charges filed in each state can be found here.

Here are a few of the interesting 2013 highlights related to Idaho:

• Only 77 charges were filed in Idaho. Compare this to 9,068 in Texas, 7,597 in Florida, 6,892 in California, and 5,162 in Georgia. Obviously, Idaho has fewer people than these more populous states, but Idaho’s 0.1% share of the EEOC’s total charges in 2013 is less than Idaho’s 0.5% share of the US population.
• The 77 charges filed in 2013 was the lowest annual number in Idaho since 2009, but is roughly comparable to the number of charges filed every year except for 2011, when 97 charges were filed.
• Nationally, for the fifth year in a row, retaliation was the most frequent basis cited in charges, appearing in 41.1% of all charges filed. That percentage has grown steadily for several years. In Idaho, retaliation allegations appeared in a 37.7% of the total charges, down slightly from 2012 when retaliation-based claims were found in 43.8% of the charges.
• The most frequently cited basis for charges in Idaho was disability discrimination, appearing in 51.9% of Idaho’s charges. In contrast, disability-based claims appeared in only 27.7% of all charges filed nationally. Interestingly, the disability-based claims in Idaho made a substantial jump in 2013, from appearing in 38.8% of charges in 2012 up to the 51.9% in 2013.
• After disability-based claims, the next three top bases for charges in Idaho were: retaliation (appearing in 37.7% of the charges), age (in 28.6% of charges), and sex (in 27.3% of charges).

The relatively small number of EEOC charges in Idaho makes it somewhat difficult to see any clear trends for Idaho. Still, it will be interesting to see if disability-discrimination continues to be the most frequently cited basis for charges filed in Idaho, appearing in more than half of the charges.

If you have any questions regarding EEOC charges or other employment matters, please contact a member of our employment group or call 208.344.6000.