Workplace discrimination filings are back to record highs after a decade of decline.
Workplace discrimination filings in the US spent most of the 2010s declining. That changed around 2022. Fairchild Employment Law analyzed and reviewed 16 years of EEOC data to get a clearer picture of what workplace discrimination in the US has looked like over time, and several trends stand out.
A Decade of Decline, Then a Sharp Reversal
EEOC filings peaked in 2011 at 132,720 charges then declined for the next decade and hit a low of 88,142 in 2021. From 2022 to 2024 filings climbed back up to 128,790. That three-year increase nearly erased a full decade of decline.
The pandemic likely drove most of the 2020 and 2021 drop. Unemployment hit 14.8 percent in April 2020. With millions of workers out of jobs, fewer employment relationships existed to generate discrimination charges. Financial pressure probably pushed many workers toward unemployment claims rather than EEOC filings.
What drove the rebound is harder to pin down. One factor worth noting is the shift in how Americans understand mental health. The pandemic accelerated that conversation in a big way. The World Health Organization reported that the first year of COVID-19 triggered a 25 percent increase in global rates of anxiety and depression. In the US, that led to broader public awareness of mental health conditions as legitimate and documented impairments. Mental health conditions can qualify as disabilities under the ADA. More workers may now recognize that what they experience at work crosses a legal threshold. That awareness alongside the increased media attention on workplace rights likely contributed to the filing surge that began in 2022.
Where Discrimination Filings Are Most Concentrated
Where you work in the US has more of an effect on your exposure to workplace discrimination than most people realize. The study ranked all 50 states and Washington D.C. by discrimination rate. The regional patterns stayed consistent across all 16 years of data.
Washington D.C. ranks first at 2,194 charges per 100,000 residents. That is nearly double the rate of any individual state. D.C. has one of the highest concentrations of federal employees in the country. Federal workers have strong legal protections and operate within established enforcement frameworks. Legal awareness runs high in a city with a large population of attorneys and policy professionals. EEOC field offices are accessible. The result is a population that both experiences discrimination and knows how to report it.
Among the 50 states, Alabama leads at 1,116 charges per 100,000 residents. Arkansas, Georgia, and Mississippi follow. Seven of the ten highest-ranking states are in the South. That pattern held across all 16 years of the study.
At the other end of the rankings, Maine logs 57 charges per 100,000 residents. Montana, Idaho, New Hampshire, and Iowa also rank near the bottom.
Low filing rates do not necessarily mean less discrimination is happening. Workers in rural areas often have fewer resources to file, less familiarity with the process, and less access to employment attorneys. The EEOC acknowledged this directly. In January 2024 the agency launched its REACH initiative, a multi-year effort focused on workers who are least likely to seek help despite having the greatest need. Part of that effort involves building a presence in rural areas and communities located far from physical EEOC offices. A low state ranking may say more about access to legal resources than about actual rates of discrimination.
Disability Discrimination Is Now the Leading Charge Type in Nearly Half of States
Race discrimination totaled 463,950 charges over the full 16-year study period. That is more than any other category. But the picture looks different when you look at recent years on their own.
Disability discrimination totaled 413,787 charges over the same period and has been closing the gap steadily. Disability surpassed race as the most commonly filed charge type in 2019 and has led every year since. So race still holds the top spot cumulatively, but disability is what workers are filing most right now. In 23 states disability already ranks as the most common charge type overall.
A few things explain this shift. The ADA Amendments Act of 2008 broadened the legal definition of disability and expanded the pool of workers with federal protections. The workforce has continamerican sign language4ued to age. Mental health conditions now receive far greater recognition as covered disabilities. Claims that would not have qualified under older definitions are now routinely filed.
New Legal Protections Generate Claims Quickly
The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act took effect in mid-2023. It requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations for pregnancy-related limitations. In its first two fiscal years it generated 2,878 charges. Washington D.C. had the highest per-capita filing rate under the PWFA, followed by Georgia and Tennessee.
The volume of early filings across nearly every state shows that workers pay attention when new laws take effect. Employers who do not update their accommodation policies when new legislation passes are taking on real liability.
What This Means for Workers
Workplace discrimination filings are back to record highs after a decade of decline. Workers in every state have federal protections against discrimination based on race, disability, sex, age, pregnancy, and other characteristics.
Low filing rates in a given state do not mean workers have fewer rights. They often mean workers have less access to the information and legal support needed to use those rights. Understanding what protections apply and how to act on them is usually where the difference gets made.
Workers who believe they have experienced discrimination can file a charge with the EEOC or, in many states, with a state agency that enforces parallel protections. Talking to an employment attorney before or during that process can help clarify which claims hold up and what documentation matters.
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