Discrimination Charges Technical Documentation

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Data Description

The core data in the discrimination visualization are workplace discrimination charges from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). These charges can be filed directly with the EEOC or with one of the state or local Fair Employment Practices Agencies (FEPAs) that have agreements with the EEOC to share the processing of charges. The data include all workplace charges filed between fiscal years 2012 and 2016.

The charge data are derived from the EEOC’s case processing software and originally were in four data files: “allegations”, “charging party'”, “respondents”, and “charges”. All data files contain a consistent unique charge identification number that allowed the four files to be merged into a single analysis file.

 Data on each charge provided by the EEOC include the employer information (address, industry, and establishment size); charging party’s demographics (age, race, national origin, and sex); the basis for the charge—the protected class, such as sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, race, national origin; the issue charged— the action or policy alleged to be discriminatory (the type of discrimination that took place such as promotion, harassment, discharge, etc.); the processing of the charge; and outcome of the charge.

Yearly charge population rates are calculated using the American Community Survey (ACS) employment estimates for states and industries. The ACS is the core survey used by the U.S. Bureau of the Census to describe local area populations. It is collected yearly from random samples of people living in the United States. Five years of ACS date are required to produce statistically accurate estimates of population size for sub-national units such as states or industries. We use the 2011-2015 five year ACS to estimate local employed workers potentially at risk for employer discrimination. We defined our population baselines as the civilian population currently employed at work. In addition, we restricted our population to individuals aged 16 and above. From these data, we estimate the civilian employed at work population at risk for each type of discrimination at the state and national level. These populations are described in more detail in the definitions section below.

 

Confidentiality Restrictions:

Data at the state level is not reported if 30 or fewer charges were filed during the five-year period in a state.

 

Types of Discrimination:

A basis is the legally protected category that the plaintiff claims was the basis of discrimination. Under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and its extensions these protected categories include race, sex, color, religion, disability, age, and national origin. Additionally, the law prohibits retaliation against individuals who file a discrimination claim by protecting an employee’s right to oppose unlawful discrimination, so retaliation is considered another basis by the EEOC. We interpret retaliation as the employer’s response to discrimination charges in our visualizations and reports. It is in this way closer to an issue than a status based discrimination

An issue is the action or policy alleged to be discriminatory—the kind of discrimination that took place—such as firing, demotion, or sexual harassment.  Charges often contain multiple bases and issues.

  • Sexual Harassment: includes all Title VII charges that contain sexual harassment as an issue.
  • Age Discrimination: includes all Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) charges filed by a charging parties 40 years of age or older that contain age as a basis of the charge.
  • National Origin Discrimination: includes all Title VII charges that contain national origin as a basis of the charge.
  • Race Discrimination: includes all Title VII charges that contain race as a basis of the charge.
  • Sex Discrimination: includes all Title VII and Equal Pay Act charges that contain sex as a basis of the charge. This includes charges made on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.
  • Disability Discrimination: includes all Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) charges that contain disability as a basis of the charge.

 

Definitions:

Total Discrimination Charges 2012-2016: The total number of discrimination charges filed in the state (or nationally) between fiscal year 2012 and 2016.

Percent Lost Job: Percent of all charges filed which alleged job loss. Job loss includes constructive discharge, layoffs, and suspension, in addition to firing. Constructive discharge refers to an employer created hostile workplace that forces the employee to quit.

Percent Faced Employer Retaliation: Percent of all charges filed that alleged retaliation.

Percent Received Monetary Benefit: Percent of all charges closed for non-administrative reasons that received a monetary benefit. Administrative closures include charges closed for administrative reasons such as failure to locate charging party, lack of jurisdiction, or charging party withdraws the charge. For more information, see:  https://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/statistics/enforcement/definitions.cfm

Percent Received Nonmonetary Benefit: Percent of all charges closed for non-administrative reasons that received a nonmonetary benefit. Administrative closures include charges closed for administrative reasons such as failure to locate charging party, lack of jurisdiction, or charging party withdraws the charge. For more information, see:  https://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/statistics/enforcement/definitions.cfm

Percent Represented by Legal Counsel: Percent of all charges in which the charging party was represented by legal counsel.

Median Monetary Benefit: The median monetary amount for charges that received a monetary benefit.

Charge Rates: The yearly average charge rate per 100,000 employed persons in the state (or nationally). That is,

The at risk employed population is calculated using the American Community Survey (ACS) for the civilian employed at work population. Because our charges include charges filed in a five-year time frame, we multiply the employed population estimates by 5 in order to obtain a yearly charge rate. The populations are defined as:

  • For sex based and sexual harassment discrimination, this includes the civilian employed at work population. Rates are calculated separately for each sex to produce sex specific charge rates and then combined to produce total charge rate. For example, the female charge rate is calculated as the number of charges filed by women over the number of employed women at work in the state (or nationally).
  • For race based discrimination, this includes the civilian employed at work population in the state (and nationally). Rates are calculated separately for each race and combined as above. For example, the black charge rate is calculated as the number of race based discrimination charges filed by a black charging party over the number of employed black at work employees.
  • For age discrimination, this includes the civilian employed at work population over the age of 40
  • For national origin discrimination, this includes the civilian employed at work population born outside of the United States and Puerto Rico.
  • For disability discrimination, this includes the civilian employed at work population identified as having a disability. The ACS asks respondents about six different disabilities: hearing difficulty, vision difficulty, cognitive difficulty, ambulatory difficulty, self-care difficulty, and independent living difficulty. Respondents who report any one of these difficulties is considered to have a disability. For more information see: https://www.census.gov/topics/health/disability/guidance/data-collection-acs.html