Charges of employment discrimination filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) hit another record level in 2011. According to the EEOC’s recently released annual Performance and Accountability Report, the EEOC received 99,947 charges of employment discrimination in fiscal year 2011 (Oct. 1, 2010, through Sept. 30, 2011), which is the largest number of charges ever filed in a fiscal year with the EEOC. Last fiscal year, 99,922 charges were filed with the agency.

EEOC also revealed that it secured a record 10 percent reduction in its backlog of pending cases and $364.6 million in back pay and penalties paid to alleged victims of workplace discrimination. Notably, the EEOC’s mediation program also collected more than $170 million and resolved 9,831 cases, which is another record.

What Can Employers Take From This Data? At a minimum, employers must grow accustomed to the EEOC’s continued emphasis on systemic discrimination as well as the EEOC’s approach to investigating charges of discrimination, many of which will result in constant pressure to timely respond to charges and information requests.