Orange County Employment Lawyers Blog
Although overall employment discrimination claims have fallen slightly in the private sector during 2013 there has also been an uptick in a number of individual areas.
Our employment lawyers in Orange County are fully aware that sometimes overall statistics can be misleading. And, at a time when employment discrimination complaints are at record highs across the board, a slight decrease is really not enough.
Complaints began climbing rapidly in 2010 when they were at nearly 100,000, which was a 7% increase from the previous year and a 20% increase from 2007. Experts have suggested that when the economy is strong, workers tend to be happy and therefore do not file as many complaints as discontented workers in tough times.
However, this seems to be an employer centric view. What about the fact that in tough economic times employers are feeling more squeezed? With management on edge, it creates a more hostile work environment which has the potential to lead to discrimination.
In addition, retaliation claims can be filed when an employee experiences an adverse employment action after they have “blown the whistle” on their employer. It would seem that in the toughest economic times employers are more likely to cut corners that would require whistleblowing by employees.
Retaliation claims is one of the areas where there has been an increase between 2012 and 2013. Allegations increased by about 2% to 38,500 which is a new record high. Retaliation claims are responsible for about 41% of all Equal Employment Opportunity Commission charges filed.
Retaliation claims have continued to be the most common basis for a discrimination claim as reported by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Some individuals feel that employee retaliation claims have increased simply because juries have been more receptive to those types of claims in recent years. However, employee rights activists feel that the reason for the increase in retaliation claims is linked to more employees asserting their rights.
Claims based on color increased by 18% between 2012 and 2013. This is a frightening fact, particularly in a country that is become increasingly diverse. You would hope that individual employers become more accepting as time goes on. Its hard to say, but it sure doesn’t seem like that has been happening as of late.
In addition to the changing number of claims filed for various reasons the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission also experiences a change in the number of claims that are resolved. An Equal Employment Opportunity Commission spokesperson has also stated that retaliation claims are slightly easier to prove.
In 2013 the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission resolved 222 total claims according to the most recent data.
Costa Mesa employment lawsuits can be filed with assistance from the Nassiri Law Group, practicing in Los Angeles, Riverside, and Orange County. Call 949.375.4734.
Additional Resources:
The New Lawsuit Ecosystem, Trends, Targets and Players, October 2013, Institute for Legal Reform
More Blog Entries:
LGBT Workplace Discrimination Statistics, December 30, 2013, Los Angeles Employment Lawyer Blog
Bigger Judgments in Employee Bias Related Lawsuits, December 26, 2013, Los Angeles Employment Lawyer Blog