Worker Discrimination and Sexual Harassment Charges Down

Workers in the cleaning industry are at risk of sexual harassment as they often work alone and at night. The latest discrimination charges annual report from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) found that workplace discrimination charges, including sexual harassment, were down in 2019, continuing a downward trend in the last three years, HR Dive reports.

The EEOC received 72,675 workplace discrimination charges in its 2019 fiscal year, compared to 76,418 in 2018 and 84,254 in 2017. Charges dropped among most categories of discrimination—which include race, sex, national origin, religion, age, disability, and retaliation. The only categories with an increase of charges in 2019 were color and equal pay.

The most frequent discrimination complaint was retaliation, which was expected as this charge is often given in conjunction with age, race, disability, and other claims.

Recent legislation has sought to decrease instances of sexual harassment in the workplace through education, recognition of available resources and other measures, including peer training.