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The U.S. Supreme Court recently threw out a massive class-action sex-discrimination lawsuit against Wal-Mart. The decision came a few months after job-bias claims were reported to have hit a record high in 2010.

The number of job-bias claims has risen steadily over the past few years, with an unprecedented 99,922 claims filed in fiscal year 2010, according to recent data from the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). While some observers attribute the higher numbers to the recession and other economic pressures faced by workers, others note that workers are becoming more aware of their rights and more confident in standing up for them.

Last year's rise, representing a 7.1 percent gain over 2009 claims, comprises job-bias claims regarding race, sex, age, disability and national origin discrimination, as well as claims filed under "retaliation" and the Equal Pay Act. Retaliation, wherein an employer punishes an employee who seeks assistance internally or with the EEOC about possible discrimination, led as the main cause for suits, with 36,258 cases filed.

Retaliation was followed by racial (35,890 cases), sex (29,029 cases) and disability (25,165 cases) discrimination. The EEOC also reported 23,264 age-discrimination claims filed and 3,790 allegations based on religion. Because some cases are filed citing multiple instances of various types of discrimination, the number of total cases filed is less than the sum of the different case types listed.

With nearly 100,000 private-sector workplace discrimination charges in 2010, observers disagree on the cause of the rise in complaints.

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The EEOC itself has also undergone changes that might have contributed to the higher number of claims. The agency has a bigger budget and more staff, and has overhauled its website, helping workers better understand their rights.

"People are better informed of their rights these days," employment attorney Audrey Mross said in a Dallas Business Journal report. "Information is more readily available, and the EEOC website and its counterparts are extremely user-friendly."

Additionally, the 2008 alterations to the Americans with Disabilities Act have helped discrimination victims bring suits against employers alleged to have exercised bias against them. "The EEOC has identified disability as being a protected category that they want to put new emphasis on," Mross explained.

Munck Carter Attorney Audrey Mross re-quoted in Industry Market Trends

The most high-profile employee discrimination case of the year was recently decided by the U.S. Supreme Court. Called "one of the most important class action cases in generations," Wal-Mart Stores Inc. v. Dukes was the largest class action suit in U.S. history, claiming that the retail giant's policies and practices had led to countless discriminatory decisions over pay and promotions, and seeking billions of dollars on behalf of more than 1.5 million female workers.

Late last month, the Court sided with Wal-Mart, ruling in a 5-4 decision that the case could not continue as a class action suit based on the plaintiffs' varied circumstances and Wal-Mart's lack of uniform policy.

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Resources

Employment Discrimination Cases Reach Record Levels by Brian Lane
Industry Market Trends

Enforcement and Litigation Statistics
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

...Job Bias Charges Hit Record High of Nearly 100,000 in Fiscal Year 2010
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Jan. 11, 2011

Enforcement & Litigation Statistics: Charge Statistics FY1997 through FY2010
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Employee Discrimination Suits Jump 7.1%
by Kerry Panchuk
Dallas Business Journal, Jan. 11, 2011

Charges of Bias at Work Hit Record
by Melanie Trottman
The Wall Street Journal, Jan. 12, 2011

Wal-Mart v. Dukes: Supreme Court Is Pro Rule Of Law
by Helgi C. Walker
Huffington Post, June 30, 2011

Supreme Court Blocks Bias Suit Against Wal-Mart
by Adam Liptak
The New York Times, June 20, 2011

Wal-Mart Wins Supreme Court Sex-Bias Case
by Ruth Mantell
MarketWatch, June 20, 2011

http://news.thomasnet.com/IMT/archives/2011/07/employment-discrimination-bias-cases-reach-record-level-2010.html

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