It is not always best to be #1. The U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) revealed in its most recent report on claims that Texas has the highest number of filings in the country (8,035 or 9.1%). Since the large Texas population makes up 8.3% (26.5 million people) of the country’s population, naturally the statistics should show more filings. How do other populous states such as New York, Florida, and California compare in terms of number of EEOC filings?

New York had only 4.1% of the filings, Florida had 8.5% of the filings, and California contributed to 7.2% of the total filings. Although California makes up 12.1% of the Nation’s population, what keeps it from leading in EEOC claims? It could be due to having arguably the most stringently protective state level equal employment opportunity agency in the country. However, no matter how these results are interpreted or the reasons why you think these numbers exist, employers should review the following statistics and the related claims to avoid inclusion in the next EEOC Charge Receipts Report.

• Texas EEOC claims for 2014 included 46.1% for retaliation. In October 2014, a Dallas federal court jury returned a verdict awarding almost half a million dollars to three former employees in a sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against EmCare, a provider of physician services.
• Race-based discrimination includes blatant discrimination due to an individual’s race but also “disparate impact” on certain racial groups, and 36.3% of Texas’ filings were for such claims.
• Disability and age discrimination claims rose to 26.4% and 23.5%, respectively, in Texas. One recent settlement requires Benny Boyd Chevrolet-Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep, Ltd. of Lubbock to pay $250,000 in damages and back pay to former manager Randall Hurst to settle a federal disability discrimination suit.  The EEOC had charged the automobile dealership with disability discrimination law by denying a partnership to Hurst because of his multiple sclerosis, subjecting him to a hostile work environment and forcing him to quit as a result.

In order to create a productive and pleasant work environment and to shield their companies from potential settlements, managers must consider the potential consequences of all manner of employment decisions, including perceived retaliation and discrimination, before employment actions are taken. All decisions should be made in conjunction with the company’s policies and supported by adequate documentation to help illustrate why a decision was made in the first place.

For the full copy of EEOC charge statistics by State and Category, click here.