On December 16, 2013, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued its fiscal year (FY) 2013 performance report, which indicates the agency is as busy as ever. According to the report, the EEOC received a total of 93,727 private-sector charges of discrimination in FY 2013, making it one of the top five fiscal years in terms of new charges filed. In addition, a total of 97,252 charges were resolved, nearly 14,000 fewer than in FY 2012. 
At the end of September, the EEOC had a pending inventory of 70,781 charges. The average time to investigate and bring charges to resolution was reduced by 21 days, to 267 days per charge. The report also revealed that in FY 2013, the agency obtained a record $372.1 million in monetary relief for victims of private-sector workplace discrimination. That figure represents a $6.7 million increase over the relief recovered in FY 2012, and it’s the highest amount ever obtained in the EEOC’s history. Overall, the agency secured both monetary and nonmonetary benefits for more than 70,522 individuals through administrative enforcement activities, including mediation, settlements, and conciliations.
In FY 2013, the EEOC began implementing its Strategic Enforcement Plan (SEP), prioritizing systemic enforcement, expanding education and outreach, and improving customer service. The agency reached more than 280,000 people during the year through their participation in more than 3,800 no-cost educational training and outreach events. The training institute educated more than 17,000 individuals at more than 370 events.
With regard to litigation, the EEOC filed 131 lawsuits in FY 2013, including 89 individual lawsuits, 21 nonsystemic class actions, and 21 systemic lawsuits. The EEOC’s legal staff resolved 209 cases, for a total monetary recovery of $39 million. At the end of FY 2013, the agency had 231 cases on its active docket, 46 of which were nonsystemic class cases and 54 involving allegations of systemic discrimination. At the end of FY 2013, there were 300 systemic investigations resulting in 63 settlements or conciliation agreements and approximately $40 million being recovered. The systemic lawsuits accounted for 16 percent of all merit filings and, by the end of the year, represented 23.4 percent of all active merit suits, the largest proportion since tracking started in FY 2006.
Finally, with regard to the EEOC’s efforts at mediation, it was reported that during FY 2013, the Private Sector National Mediation Program conducted 11,513 mediations and secured 8,890 mediated resolutions. More important, the EEOC obtained over $160.9 million in monetary benefits for employees through voluntary mediation. That was the second-highest level in the agency’s mediation program history.