On April 3rd, 2026, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency that enforces the principal federal laws prohibiting workplace discrimination, reported $660 million in total monetary relief for 17,680 workers, the third-highest annual recovery in recent years.  The $660 million top line figure is based on $528 million recovered from roughly 13,350 pre-litigation settlements, $104.6 million from over 1,800 federal employee settlements, and $27 million from over 2,500 cases resolved in litigation. 

EEOC Fiscal Year 2025, by the Numbers 

The EEOC recovered approximately $660 million for 17,680 discrimination victims across all sectors in FY 2025. The breakdown by enforcement channel: 

The EEOC reported that the $528 million recovered pre-litigation was a new high.  For the second year in a row, the EEOC reported approximately $240 million in monetary recovery from mediations.  Conciliation monetary recovery rose from $41.4 million to 52.5 million. 

On the litigation side, the EEOC reported fewer merit lawsuits and subpoena enforcement actions. However, overall recoveries were supported by the large pre-litigation category.  Of the nearly 100 merit lawsuits brought in fiscal year 2025, the most common categories were sex and/or pregnancy, followed by disability cases and finally retaliation in third. 

How the EEOC Process Works  

For workers who believe they have experienced discrimination on the job, the EEOC process is typically  a necessary first step before filing a private lawsuit under many, but not all, federal anti-discrimination statutes. The process may be different for workers suing under state law. 

For most claimants, the process starts with a charge of discrimination. In general, the charge must be filed within 180 days of the alleged discriminatory act, although that deadline is extended to 300 days when a state or local fair-employment law also applies. Some state laws have very different limitations, including California, which allows up to three years for filing most claims through the California Civil Rights Department. Federal employees are on a different timetable and generally must contact an EEO counselor within 45 days, then file a formal agency complaint within 15 days after receiving notice from the counselor. 

Once a charge is filed the EEOC notifies the employer, and may offer mediation. If mediation does not resolve the matter, the agency may investigate, including interviewing witnesses. For Title VII claims, if the EEOC finds cause, it generally must attempt conciliation before deciding whether it will sue. If the EEOC does not proceed with litigation, or closes the matter, the charging party may receive a notice of right to sue. The right-to-sue rules depend on the statute, but are typically short in time compared to many claims under state laws.  

A right-to-sue letter does not mean you won or lost. It simply confirms that the claimant has satisfied administrative exhaustion requirements and may now pursue the matter in court. From that point, the claimant becomes a private plaintiff, and the case proceeds like any other federal civil lawsuit once filed, as long as the claims continue to be those that were part of the original EEOC claim and not unrelated claims that have not completed the EEOC process. 

Available remedies: 

• Title VII, PWFA and ADA permit back pay, front pay, compensatory damages, punitive damages, injunctive relief, and attorneys’ fees.  
  • Compensatory and punitive damages are subject to statutory caps that scale with employer size:  
    • $50,000 for employers with 15-100 employees,  
    • $100,000 for 101-200,  
    • $200,000 for 201-500, and  
    • $300,000 for 500+ employees 
• ADEA permits back pay, liquidated damages (doubles back pay for willful violations), plus equitable relief. There is no compensatory or punitive damage claim under the ADEA. 
• The Equal Pay Act permits back pay and liquidated damages plus attorneys’ fees. 
   

Legal Review of Your Claims 

Learn more about discrimination in the workplace. Call Schneider Wallace Cottrell Kim LLP to schedule a consultation with our California, Illinois, Texas or Washington, D.C. offices. Our lawyers handle complex state and federal administrative proceedings and trials. Our firm represents employees in wage-and-hour and workplace rights matters in many states. To discuss with a free legal consultation, please contact Schneider Wallace at info@schneiderwallace.com.