News Notes: EEOC Backlog Reduced; Race Bias Charges Most Common

Although the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has receivedan average of more than 85,000 charges a year since 1992, the agency recentlyannounced it has slashed its pending caseload by nearly half in the lastthree years, partly by offering more mediation-based alternative disputeresolution. Complaints of race discrimination top the list (36% of allcharges filed), followed by sex discrimination and harassment (31%), retaliation(22.5%), disability (22.4%) and age (19.6%). Sexual harassment filingshave more than doubled since 1991.