EEOC Releases Annual Performance Report for Fiscal Year 2023

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today released its report on the agency’s performance during fiscal year (FY) 2023, covering Oct. 1, 2022, through Sept. 30, 2023.

In line with its strategic plan and strategic enforcement plan, the agency’s performance during FY 2023 reflects both an increased demand for its services and significant remedies for workers who suffered discrimination. This includes handling more than 522,000 calls from the public through the agency contact center and a 10% increase in receipts of private sector charges of discrimination, while recovering more than $665 million on behalf of victims of discrimination.

“The EEOC, created in the crucible of the civil rights struggles of the 1960s, continues to advance its mission of equal employment opportunity for all in this 60th anniversary year of the Civil Rights Act of 1964,” said EEOC Chair Charlotte A. Burrows. “For nearly six decades, the EEOC has been entrusted with the clear mission of preventing and remedying discrimination in our nation's workplaces. That legacy and our ongoing work are vitally important as we rebuild the economy to work for everyone and fulfill our nation's promise of equal justice for all.”

During FY 2023, the EEOC implemented the newly enacted Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), which was signed into law by President Biden on Dec. 29, 2022. The PWFA provides workers with limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions the ability to obtain reasonable accommodations, absent undue hardship to the employer. The EEOC began accepting PWFA charges on the law’s effective date, June 27, 2023, released educational resources for workers and employers, and conducted broad public outreach.

Performance highlights include:

• Securing more than $665 million for victims of discrimination, a 29.5% increase over FY 2022, including:
  • Approximately $440.5 million for 15,143 victims of employment discrimination in the private sector and state and local government workplaces through mediation, conciliation, and settlements, and
  • More than $202 million for 5,943 federal employees and applicants, an increase of 53% over FY 2022.
• Receiving 81,055 new discrimination charges, 233,704 inquiries in field offices, more than 522,000 calls from the public through the agency contact center, and over 86,000 emails, representing respective increases of 10.3%, 6.9%, 10%, and 25% over FY 2022.
• Filing 143 new lawsuits, an increase of more than 50% compared to FY 2022, including 86 suits on behalf of individuals, 32 non-systemic suits with multiple victims, and 25 systemic suits involving multiple victims or discriminatory policies.
• Obtaining more than $22.6 million for 968 individuals in litigation, while resolving 98 lawsuits and achieving favorable results in 91% of all federal district court resolutions.
• Reducing both private and federal sector inventories, including reducing the private sector inventory by almost 300 charges, despite the 10.3% increase in new charges.
• Reducing federal sector hearings inventory by 26.3%, the sixth consecutive annual reduction in the federal hearings inventory, and resolving 2,207 federal sector appeals that were or would have been more than 15 months old at the end of the fiscal year, substantially increasing the speed of resolutions.

The APR, issued in coordination with the EEOC’s FY 2025 Congressional Budget Justification, reports on the EEOC’s progress in achieving the goals and objectives outlined in the agency's strategic plan along with performance and program results achieved for the previous fiscal year.

The EEOC prevents and remedies unlawful employment discrimination and advances equal opportunity for all 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.