The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has hit a 10-year low in the number of suits filed during FY2025. The EEOC filed 93 suits in FY2025, one of the lowest numbers in the past 30 years. In contrast, the EEOC filed 71 suits in just one month of FY2023.
Following the typical pattern, the EEOC’s FY2025 suits were primarily filed under Title VII and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Although the third-largest group of EEOC suits historically has been filed under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), these suits were overshadowed by pregnancy discrimination cases in FY2025.
Furthermore, EEOC filings concerning race or national origin discrimination dropped to three from 14 in FY2024, 27 in FY2023, and 17 in FY2022, reaching a 10-year low. Two of the three cases were based on theories of reverse discrimination. As race and national origin have historically been a stable source of discrimination cases for the EEOC, the drop is seen as significant. Similarly, the EEOC filed four religious discrimination cases in FY2024 and 11 in FY2025, after nearly 14,000 cases in FY2022. The acting chair of the EEOC has also commented in the past that “woke policies” have overshadowed workers’ religious protections, but that the agency intended to prioritize enforcement of religious freedoms during her administration.
The lack of a quorum for most of the year almost certainly limited the type and scope of EEOC enforcement activities. However, with the Senate’s recent confirmation of Brittany Panuccio as commissioner, the EEOC now has a quorum of three, allowing it to approve actions by a simple majority of two commissioners.
Some anticipate that the newly established quorum will result in a deluge of cases, some of which are expected to be systemic, large-scale actions. Increased EEOC suits, particularly when they focus on specific issues, often lead to a corresponding increase in private litigation on those same issues.
The EEOC also requires a vote to approve cases that would challenge federal court precedents. As a result, the existence of a quorum is likely to move that type of litigation forward. While some may view the EEOC as less relevant due to the sharp reduction in case filings, the newly established quorum is likely to reverse those sentiments. Additionally, the EEOC aggressively pursued the cases it filed in FY2025, so employers should continue to ensure compliance with all EEOC-related policies and precedents.
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