According to a recently released report, the EEOC received more retaliation charges in 2102 than in any prior year. And, in 2012, it received more retaliation charges than in any other individual category.

 The number of retaliation charges lodged with the EEOC has grown dramatically in the last 15 years. In 1997, 18,198 retaliation claims were received by the EEOC, making up 22.6% of all complaints. In the last five years, the number of retaliation charges received by the EEOC has increased by 10,000.

Retaliation was the most commonly-filed charge of 2012, constituting 8.1% of the total complaints lodged with the agency. Retaliation claims made up 37,836 of the 99,412 private sector discrimination charges filed during fiscal year 2012. After retaliation, the most frequently filed charges were race discrimination (33,512) and sex discrimination (30,356).

Retaliation became the most commonly-filed EEOC charge in 2009, and that has remained the case since.

These data reinforce the importance of managing carefully complaints of discrimination or harassment by current employees.