Seyfarth Synopsis: As we near the end of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's ("EEOC") fiscal year in September 2018, employers and litigators have started to notice an uptick in the Commission's activity. Specifically, close observers have detected a rise in EEOC filings related to workplace harassment. In today's video, Partner Jerry Maatman of Seyfarth Shaw provides an overview of the EEOC's fiscal year to date, and forecasts what employers can expect to see from the Commission going forward.

Whereas most assumed that the EEOC's activity would decrease under a more business-friendly Administration, the Commission has actually continued to file lawsuits at a growing rate. For purposes of context, by the end of August 2017, the EEOC had not yet filed 100 merit lawsuits. However, to date this year, the EEOC has already filed 112 merit lawsuits. This number is especially relevant insofar as the Commission has not yet hit its traditional filing peak, i.e., the month of September. For example, in FY 2017, the Commission filed 88 lawsuits in September alone.

Another key takeaway for employers thus far in FY 2018 concerns the specific allegations of the EEOC's lawsuits. To date, the EEOC has filed at least 22 lawsuits involving claims of sexual harassment, which is especially significant in light of the #MeToo Movement. Additionally, the EEOC has explicitly stated its priority of "Preventing Systems Discrimination" in at least 10 press releases during FY 2018, including multiple press releases (which can be seen HERE and HERE) touting the Commission's activity in filing groups of workplace harassment suits in one day. Evidently, these filings suggest that the EEOC's emphasis on this litigation priority is being escalated in FY 2018.

Implications For Employers

While employers should always be cognizant of their workplace policies, today's litigation landscape requires human resources personnel to be especially careful regarding their written policies, employee training, and HR reporting procedures. For a full overview of this aspect, be sure to watch Jerry's explanation in the video above.

Furthermore, despite the current status of EEOC litigation, filing trends can always be significantly altered in the month of September. Remember to stay tuned to our blog, as we will be posting our annual end-of-year EEOC analysis as soon as the Commission's fiscal year comes to a close!

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