The EEOC has released its FY 2009 Charge Statistics and they show a surprising decrease in the number of charges filed with the agency (although FY 2009 is compared against the highest charge filing fiscal year ever).  The total number of charges in FY 2009 dropped from 95,402 in FY 2008 to 93,277 in FY 2009.  While there was a drop in the overall number of charges filed, FY 2009 still recorded the second highest number of charges ever filed.  

The breakdown of the FY 2009 statistics shows that there were small increases in the number of charges alleging national origin, religious discrimination and retaliation.  There was a nearly 2,000 charge increase in disability-related charges.  The categories all saw record high filings.  All other charge categories saw a decrease in charge filings. 

Prediction for FY 2010 numbers –Expect to see continued increase in the number of disability and religious discrimination filings with other categories remaining relatively constant.  You can find full detail on the number of charge filings here.