The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has released its annual report on the federal workforce for fiscal year 2011.
Some of the highlights of the report include:
- 15,796 individuals filed 16,974 complaints alleging employment discrimination against the federal government
- The number of complaints filed decreased by 3.5% over the previous year and there was a 4.2% decrease in the number of individuals who filed complaints over the same period. In FY 2011, 6.9% of the complaints were filed by individuals who had filed at least one other complaint during the year, up from the 6.3% in FY 2010.
- Federal agencies reduced the average number of days to process EEO complaints by 14 days
- Federal agencies also reduced the average number of days to process EEO complaints on the merits by 51 days
Retaliation was the most frequently alleged basis of discrimination in complaints filed (7,553). Age discrimination was the second most frequent basis of discrimination alleged (5,105), and harassment (non-sexual) was the most frequently alleged issue (5,863 out of the 16,974 filed complaints).
Speaking on the report, Carlton M. Hadden, director of EEOC’s Office of Federal Operations said, “This report has some encouraging news, particularly looking at how federal agencies have reduced the time for processing EEO complaints. While federal agencies must remain focused on ensuring timely processing of EEO complaints, they also must make real their obligation to make their workplaces genuine models of EEO employment.”
The full report is available on the EEOC web site.
