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Are you considering filing a discrimination or retaliation complaint with the EEOC and wondering how often employees achieve a financial recovery? While the specifics of any case depend on its unique details, understanding the broader trends can help you set realistic expectations.
In this post, we’ve analyzed EEOC data from the past five years to uncover the most statistically likely outcomes. We’ll break down the percentage of cases that result in favorable vs. unfavorable resolutions for employees, and provide insight into what those outcomes typically are. Whether you’re preparing to file or just curious about the odds, this guide will give you a clearer picture of what to expect.
First A Few Data and Report Details
What is the EEOC: The EEOC investigates charges of discrimination against employers. Their role is to be fair and accurate, but they are not your personal advocate or attorney.
Where did we get the data? EEOC Enforcement and Litigation Statistics (Table E1c. Charge Receipts and Resolutions by Types (All Statutes) FY 1997 - FY 2023)
How do we classify winning?
We classify any outcome where the employee received benefits as a win, even though technically the payouts are negotiated settlements.
We started with the EEOC’s Definition of Terms and categorized favorable outcomes as:
Successful Conciliation
Settlement
Withdrawal with Benefits
Unfavorable Outcomes as:
Unsuccessful Conciliation
No Reasonable Cause (EEOC makes no decision on claims merits, issues right to sue)
Administrative Closure (EEOC closed case w/o investigating)
Important Note: The EEOC classifies Unsuccessful Conciliation as an favorable outcome, but since this only confirms the employee’s allegations of discrimination without any resolved benefit, we have set it as unfavorable.
EEOC Case Outcomes: Favorable vs. Unfavorable
Over the past five years, an average of 16.3% of cases resulted in favorable outcomes for employees, while 83.7% did not.
At first glance, these numbers might feel discouraging. But I have a different perspective, because I realize how much of this gap can be attributed to the disadvantage employees face when filing workplace discrimination and retaliation claims. While employers have the advantage of a legal team experienced in fighting and winning discrimination cases, most employees file without counsel and with no legal guidance.
As a result, every employee who fights workplace discrimination represents the symbolic David taking on the much more advantaged, favored to win, Goliath. This data shows that even with all of the employer’s advantages, 16.3% of employees defy the odds and hold their employers accountable to some degree.
And I can’t help, but wonder how many more employees could be successful with guidance and support starting with the first discriminatory incident. In fact, that’s why we created JustiProof, a solution designed to help you build a compelling discrimination case that supports you in getting the help you’re seeking whether from HR, a lawyer or the EEOC.
EEOC Favorable Outcomes: What Does ‘Winning’ Look Like
Due to resource constraints, the EEOC prefers and encourages mediation to expedite case closure. As a result, it’s not a surprise to see that 51% of favorable outcomes in 2023 were from negotiated settlements. Similarly, Withdrawal with Benefits at 43%, implies a form of settlement took place despite the EEOC not being directly involved.
If we accept that most employers (and their legal teams) respond to a discrimination or retaliation case with a goal of mitigating legal risk when (and only if) present, it stands to reason that employers are more inclined to settle strong cases and less inclined to settle others. This may explain why the EEOC settled so many cases in 2023, while also finding ‘reasonable cause’ for only 2.3% of cases. By the time the EEOC completes its investigation, the majority of strong cases have settled and only those the employer felt they could easily fight and win continued through to investigation close.
The few cases that result in a ‘reasonable cause’ finding also explains why only 6% of our favorable EEOC outcomes come from successful conciliation. What is interesting though, is that even when the EEOC found reasonable cause, less than 50% of those cases resulted in favorable outcomes for employees as you can see in the pie chart above.
EEOC Unfavorable Outcomes: What Does ‘Losing’ Look Like
The vast majority of EEOC outcomes result in unfavorable outcomes for the employee and for 76% of these cases, the EEOC found ‘No Reasonable Cause.’ And while it’s important to note that the EEOC clarifies this doesn’t mean the employer did not discriminate, it does mean they will not be proceeding forward with the investigation and you’ll have to find an alternative legal path if you want to hold your employer accountable.
Administrative Closures are the next largest group with 23% of unfavorable outcomes, but this is more nuanced than it appears as some of these cases are closed at the charging party requests so they can move straight to filing in court. However, since we’re unable to determine what percentage of administrative closures this accounts for and this group also includes cases the EEOC rejected for reasons such as missed filing deadlines, we’ve included it with unfavorable EEOC outcomes.
Finally, unsuccessful conciliations represent a small percentage of unfavorable outcomes at just 1%. While this chart may give the impression that unsuccessful conciliations aren’t common, it’s important to note that this is only because the EEOC finds reasonable cause for 2.3% of cases overall.
It is still more common for conciliation to be unsuccessful than successful and unfortunately when this happens there’s no guarantee the EEOC will litigate. For example in 2023, there were 975 unsuccessful conciliations and the EEOC only litigated 98 cases (~10%).
Conclusion
This data may not inspire optimism at first glance, but those who are filing and winning are a testament to the resilience of individuals who stand up against the odds. Every success story starts with an employee who probably felt nervous just like you do now. Every success story represents a symbolic David prevailing over a much more powerful Goliath, proving it is possible.
If you are facing discrimination and think you may need to file with the EEOC now or in the future, you don't have to fight this alone. Learn more about JustiProof and how we can help you prepare, strengthen your case, and maximize your chances of joining the 16.3% of employees who didn't just fight back, they fought back and won!
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