EEOC Issues Annual Performance Report for Fiscal Year 2023

On March 11, 2024, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced the release of its Annual Performance Report (APR) for fiscal year (FY) 2023, which covers Oct. 1, 2022, through Sept. 30, 2023.

Issued in coordination with the agency’s FY 2025 Congressional Budget Justification, the report provides information on the agency’s performance and program results achieved in FY 2023. It also provides updates on the agency’s progress toward achieving the goals and objectives outlined in its 2022-2026 Strategic Plan for FYs 2022-2026 and Strategic Enforcement Plan for FYs 2024-2028.

Increased Demand and Remedies

Consistent with the strategic plan and strategic enforcement plan, the new report reflects increases from FY 2022 in demand for services from the public and the amount of monetary awards the EEOC obtained for workers who experienced discrimination in FY 2023. This includes more than:

• 522,000 calls from the public handled through the agency contact center, which was almost a 10% increase;
• 233,700 inquiries handled in field offices, which was a 6.9% increase;
• 86,000 emails received, which was a more than 25% increase;
• 81,000 new private-sector discrimination charges received, which was almost a 10.3% increase; and
• 140 new lawsuits filed, which was a more than 50% increase; and
• $665 million recovered on behalf of victims of discrimination, which was a 29.5% increase.

Reduced Pending Cases

Despite the increases in inquiries and new charges, the FY 2023 APR indicates that the EEOC reduced the number of pending private-sector cases by almost 300 in FY 2023. It also reduced pending federal-sector hearings by 26.3% and substantially increased the speed of these resolutions.

PWFA Implementation

The EEOC’s implementation of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), which was enacted on Dec. 29, 2022, is among several other performance items highlighted in the agency’s new report. The PWFA provides workers who have limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions with the ability to obtain reasonable accommodations, absent undue hardship to the employer. During FY 2023, the EEOC began accepting PWFA charges on the new law’s effective date of June 27, 2023, released educational resources for workers and employers, and conducted broad public outreach.

This Legal Update is not intended to be exhaustive nor should any discussion or opinions be construed as legal advice. Readers should contact legal counsel for legal advice.
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