EEOC Lawsuits Spike in 2017

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is on a record pace in filing lawsuits, having initiated 241 so far this year, compared to 86 for all of 2016. September alone saw 69 lawsuits filed, up from 22 last year. July and August each had 20 new filings, compared to 8 in each of those months in 2016. The rapid increase appears to be more related to the commission's decision-making process rather than any spike in workplace discrimination, according to observers. Also, the EEOC seems to be more willing to lodge lawsuits for individual employees rather than seeking systemic (wide-scale) legal actions as the Obama EEOC did. At any rate, EEOC watchers warn employers to take any inquiry by the EEOC seriously and to act promptly in response.