Key points
- The EEOC received 4,132 charges from New York State in fiscal year 2025, which was 4.7% of the national total; 2,311 of them (55.9%) alleged retaliation.[1]
- The New York State Division of Human Rights received 8,403 complaints in its fiscal year 2024 (April 1, 2023, to March 31, 2024), and 77% of all complaints involved allegations of employment discrimination.[2]
- The NYC Commission on Human Rights fielded 15,507 inquiries and filed 396 complaints in City fiscal year 2025 (July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025); about 58% of the filed complaints were in employment.[3]
- Nationally, 54,350 EEOC charges alleged retaliation in fiscal year 2025, 61.6% of the 88,201 charges received.[4][5]
- The three sets of figures cannot be added together or compared directly: EEOC counts exclude charges filed with state or local agencies, and one charge can be counted under several bases.[6]
Three agencies publish figures on workplace discrimination complaints from New York, and none of them counts the same thing. The EEOC received 4,132 charges from New York State in fiscal year 2025.[1] The New York State Division of Human Rights received 8,403 complaints in its fiscal year 2024, and 77% of all complaints involved employment.[2] The NYC Commission on Human Rights filed 396 complaints in City fiscal year 2025, about 58% of them in employment.[3] This page sets out each official number with its year and exactly what it measures. These are the figures this page uses, as of October 2026.
Read every number here as a count of filings, not a count of proven violations and not a measure of how much discrimination occurs. A charge is a signed statement asserting that an organization engaged in employment discrimination.[7] None of these figures predicts how any one person's complaint will end.
EEOC charges from New York State (federal law)
The EEOC's state table counts charges filed with the EEOC itself by people in New York. It does not include charges filed only with state or local agencies such as the State Division of Human Rights or the NYC Commission on Human Rights.[6]
| Fiscal year | EEOC charges from New York | Source note |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 2,999 | EEOC charge receipts for New York[8] |
| 2021 | 2,580 | EEOC charge receipts for New York[8] |
| 2022 | 3,534 | 4.8% of all U.S. charges[8] |
| 2023 | 4,011 | 4.9% of all U.S. charges[9] |
| 2024 | 4,105 | 4.6% of all U.S. charges[9] |
| 2025 | 4,132 | 4.7% of all U.S. charges[1] |
What New York charges alleged in fiscal year 2025
| Basis or statute | New York charges, FY 2025 | Share of New York charges |
|---|---|---|
| Retaliation (all statutes) | 2,311 | 55.9%[1] |
| Retaliation under Title VII only | 1,662 | 40.2%[9] |
| Disability | 1,589 | 38.5%[1][10] |
| Sex | 1,449 | 35.1%[1] |
| Race | 1,323 | 32.0%[1] |
| Age | 707 | 17.1%[1] |
| National origin | 581 | 14.1%[9] |
| Color | 414 | 10.0%[9] |
| Religion | 219 | 5.3%[9] |
| Pregnant Workers Fairness Act | 197 | 4.8%[9] |
| Equal Pay Act | 49 | 1.2%[9] |
| Genetic information | 12 | 0.3%[9] |
The rows add up to far more than 4,132 because the EEOC counts a charge under every basis it alleges.[6] New York's 1,589 disability charges were 4.4% of all disability charges the EEOC received nationally that year.[10]
EEOC charges nationally (federal law)
The EEOC received 88,201 charges of employment discrimination in fiscal year 2025, compared with 88,531 in fiscal year 2024 and 81,055 in fiscal year 2023.[4]
| Basis or statute | Charges, FY 2025 | Share of all charges |
|---|---|---|
| Retaliation (all statutes) | 54,350 | 61.6%[5] |
| Retaliation under Title VII only | 36,082 | 40.9%[5] |
| Disability | 36,256 | 41.1%[5] |
| Race | 29,338 | 33.3%[5] |
| Sex | 26,941 | 30.5%[5][11] |
| Age | 16,353 | 18.5%[5] |
| National origin | 7,856 | 8.9%[5] |
| Color | 6,738 | 7.6%[5] |
| Religion | 3,710 | 4.2%[5] |
| Pregnant Workers Fairness Act | 3,448 | 3.9%[5] |
| Equal Pay Act | 928 | 1.1%[5] |
| Genetic information | 449 | 0.5%[5] |
Retaliation charges under any statute rose from 42,301 (47.8% of all charges) in fiscal year 2024 to 54,350 (61.6%) in fiscal year 2025.[5] Disability charges rose from 33,668 (38.0%) to 36,256 (41.1%) over the same two years.[11] The law behind those two categories is explained in what is workplace retaliation? and disability discrimination at work in New York.
Harassment charges
| What is counted (national, EEOC) | FY 2023 | FY 2024 | FY 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charges alleging harassment on any basis, under any statute the EEOC enforces | 31,354 | 35,774 | 37,397[12] |
| Title VII charges alleging sex-based harassment (includes sexual harassment charges where both are alleged) | 14,195 | 15,438 | 15,809[13] |
| Title VII charges alleging sexual harassment | 7,732 | 8,474 | 8,475[13] |
These harassment figures are national counts of federal charges. Under federal Title VII, harassment is actionable only if it is "severe or pervasive."[14] The New York State Human Rights Law makes harassment unlawful regardless of whether it would be considered severe or pervasive, and a claim under the New York City Human Rights Law does not require that showing either.[15][16] See what is a hostile work environment under New York law? and what counts as sexual harassment in New York?
How the EEOC resolved charges in fiscal year 2025
These are charges the EEOC resolved during the year, whenever they were filed, so the total differs from the number of charges received.[17][4]
| EEOC resolution category | All charges | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Total resolutions | 90,744 | All resolutions[17] |
| No reasonable cause | 57,500 | 63.4%[17] |
| Administrative closures | 16,789 | 18.5%[17] |
| Settlements | 6,843 | 7.5%[17] |
| Withdrawals with benefits | 6,712 | 7.4%[17] |
| Reasonable cause | 2,314 | 2.6%[17] |
| Merit resolutions (a combined category the EEOC reports separately; not an additional group of charges) | 15,869 | 17.5%[17] |
The EEOC reports $528 million in monetary benefits obtained without litigation in fiscal year 2025, a national total for all charges.[17] Of the 37,613 harassment charges it resolved that year, 22,778 (60.6%) ended in no reasonable cause, 920 (2.4%) in reasonable cause, and 6,857 (18.2%) were merit resolutions, with $261.9 million in monetary benefits. For Title VII sexual harassment charges, 8,689 were resolved: 4,191 (48.2%) no reasonable cause, 356 (4.1%) reasonable cause and 2,194 (25.3%) merit resolutions, with $86.12 million in monetary benefits.[18]
Two cautions apply. The EEOC's regulation says a no-reasonable-cause determination "does not mean the claims in the charge have no merit," and the person still receives a notice of right to sue.[19] And these are totals across every charge; they are not an average or an expected amount for any one person. What follows an EEOC determination is covered in the right-to-sue notice and the 90-day deadline.
New York State Division of Human Rights (State law)
The Division's latest verified annual report covers State fiscal year 2024, which ran from April 1, 2023, to March 31, 2024.[2]
| Measure, State fiscal year 2024 | Figure |
|---|---|
| Complaints received by the Division | 8,403[2] |
| Share of all complaints involving allegations of employment discrimination | 77%[2] |
| Complaints citing disability | 39%[20] |
| Complaints citing race or color | 36%[20] |
| Complaints citing sex | 24%[20] |
| Complaints citing retaliation for opposing discrimination | 40%[20] |
| Compensation the Division says it secured for victims of discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodation | More than $8 million[21] |
Division complaints often cite more than one basis, so the percentages add up to more than 100%.[20] The basis percentages are shares of all complaints filed with the Division, and the compensation figure is one total for employment, housing and public accommodation together.[20][21] It is not an average per complaint. Figures from any later Division report are not included here. The Division's process is described in inside a Division of Human Rights case.
NYC Commission on Human Rights (City law)
The Commission's annual report covers City fiscal year 2025, July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025.[3]
| Measure, City fiscal year 2025 | Figure |
|---|---|
| Inquiries from the public (phone calls, emails, letters and in-person visits) | 15,507, which the Commission calls a record[3] |
| Complaints of discrimination filed | 396[3] |
| Share of filed complaints in employment / housing / public accommodations | About 58% / 31% / 10%[3] |
| Most common claims across all areas | Disability 26%, gender 18%, lawful source of income 15%, race 8%[3] |
| Filed cases resolved | 374[22] |
| Average time filed complaints were pending while moving to a final resolution | 1,029 days[22] |
| Outcomes of resolved cases | Administrative closure 168 (44.9%); settlements 136 (36.4%); probable cause 68 (18.2%); no probable cause 2 (0.5%)[22] |
| Matters referred to the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings | 16[22] |
| Compensatory damages to complainants and civil penalties, obtained through conciliations, mediated settlements and withdrawals with benefits | $17,459,622 ($15,689,122 in compensatory damages and $1,770,500 in civil penalties)[23] |
| Cases mediated to resolution by the Commission's mediation office | 17, for an aggregate $1,796,875; average 107 days from acceptance into mediation to closure[23] |
An inquiry is not a complaint. The Commission says its limitations period does not stop until a verified complaint is signed, notarized, and mailed or personally delivered.[24] Under the NYCHRL, a Commission complaint is due within one year of the alleged practice, or three years for a claim of gender-based harassment.[25] See filing with the NYC Commission on Human Rights.
How long things take: the official timing figures
| Forum | Official figure | What it measures |
|---|---|---|
| EEOC (federal) | Approximately 10 months | The EEOC's stated average time to investigate a charge[26] |
| EEOC mediation (federal) | Less than 3 months | The EEOC's stated average time to resolve a charge through mediation[27] |
| NYC Commission on Human Rights (City) | 1,029 days | Average time filed complaints were pending, fiscal year 2025[22] |
| State Division of Human Rights (State) | No figure given here | The Division says to expect an investigation to take at least several months, and sometimes longer[28] |
| U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York | 6.3 months median (8,922 cases) | All civil cases terminated in the 12 months ending June 30, 2026, filing to disposition[29] |
| U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York | 7.3 months median (6,599 cases) | All civil cases terminated in the 12 months ending June 30, 2026, filing to disposition[29] |
| Southern District, cases disposed of during trial | 41.7 months median (77 cases) | Filing to disposition, same period[29] |
| Eastern District, cases disposed of during trial | 51.8 months median (49 cases) | Filing to disposition, same period[29] |
The federal court medians cover civil cases of nearly every kind in those districts, not employment cases specifically, and most of those cases ended without a trial: 77 of 8,922 in the Southern District and 49 of 6,599 in the Eastern District were disposed of during trial.[29] None of the figures in this table predicts how long a particular case will take. The stages of a court case are in stages of an employment lawsuit, and the forums are compared in EEOC, State Division, City Commission or court.
What these numbers do not tell you
- They overlap and they leave things out. EEOC basis counts overlap because one charge can allege several bases, and they exclude charges filed only with state or local agencies.[6] Adding the federal, State and City figures together would not produce a meaningful total.
- The years differ. The EEOC figures are for federal fiscal year 2025, the State Division's for a year ending March 31, 2024, and the City Commission's for a year ending June 30, 2025.[1][2][3]
- The laws differ. A charge at the EEOC rests on federal statutes; Title VII reaches only employers with 15 or more employees, while the New York State Human Rights Law covers all employers within the State.[30][31] A complaint against an employer with fewer than 15 employees can therefore appear in the State figures although Title VII would not reach that employer.
- Court cases are not counted. Claims under the State and City Human Rights Laws can be filed directly in New York State Supreme Court with no agency filing first, so agency figures do not count them.[32]
- Dollar totals are not typical results. The State Division's dollar figure is a single yearly total across employment, housing and public accommodation, and the City Commission's is a single yearly total of compensatory damages and civil penalties.[21][23] What goes into the value of an individual claim is a separate subject, covered in what goes into the value of a claim.
Common questions
How many workplace discrimination charges are filed in New York each year?
There is no single count, because three agencies keep separate figures. The EEOC received 4,132 charges from New York State in fiscal year 2025.[1] The State Division of Human Rights received 8,403 complaints in its fiscal year 2024, 77% of them involving employment.[2] The NYC Commission on Human Rights filed 396 complaints in City fiscal year 2025, about 58% in employment.[3] The EEOC figure excludes charges filed with state or local agencies.[6]
What is the most common type of EEOC charge from New York?
Retaliation. Of the 4,132 charges the EEOC received from New York in fiscal year 2025, 2,311 (55.9%) alleged retaliation under any statute. Disability was cited in 1,589 (38.5%), sex in 1,449 (35.1%), race in 1,323 (32.0%) and age in 707 (17.1%).[1] The shares add up to more than 100% because one charge can allege several bases.[6]
What percentage of EEOC charges end with a finding of reasonable cause?
In fiscal year 2025 the EEOC resolved 90,744 charges; 2,314 (2.6%) ended in a reasonable-cause finding and 57,500 (63.4%) in a no-reasonable-cause determination.[17] The EEOC's regulation says a no-reasonable-cause determination does not mean the claims in the charge have no merit, and the person still receives a notice of right to sue.[19]
How long does a NYC Commission on Human Rights case take?
The Commission's annual report for City fiscal year 2025 says the average time filed complaints were pending while moving to a final resolution was 1,029 days. It resolved 374 filed cases that year.[22] That is an average for filed complaints in employment, housing and public accommodations together; it describes past cases and does not predict how long any one complaint will take.
How many sexual harassment charges does the EEOC receive?
The EEOC received 8,475 Title VII charges alleging sexual harassment in fiscal year 2025, compared with 8,474 in fiscal year 2024 and 7,732 in fiscal year 2023. A broader category, Title VII charges alleging sex-based harassment, totaled 15,809.[13] Charges alleging harassment on any basis under any statute the EEOC enforces numbered 37,397.[12] These are national federal figures.
Sources
- EEOC, Table E1b, Charge Receipts by State (includes U.S. Territories) and Basis or Statute (All Statutes), FY 2009 – FY 2025 (row "NY | New York") — U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
- N.Y.S. Division of Human Rights, Annual Report FY2023-2024, p. 14 ("Complaints Filed by Jurisdiction, FY2024") — New York State Division of Human Rights
- NYC Commission on Human Rights, Annual Report Fiscal Year 2025, "Inquiries" and "Total Complaints Filed" (PDF pp. 18, 23) — City of New York
- EEOC, Table E1a, Charge Receipts by Basis or Statute (All Statutes), FY 1997 – FY 2025 — U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
- EEOC, Table E1a (FY 1997 – FY 2025) — U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
- EEOC, Table E1a, notes — U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
- EEOC, "EEOC Public Portal" (page read Oct. 5, 2026) — U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
- EEOC, "FY 2009 - 2022 EEOC Charge Receipts for NY" (page read Oct. 5, 2026) — U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
- EEOC, Table E1b, Charge Receipts by State (includes U.S. Territories) and Basis or Statute (All Statutes), FY 2009 – FY 2025 (row NY) — U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
- EEOC, Table E1b, Charge Receipts by State and Basis or Statute, FY 2009 – FY 2025 (row NY) — U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
- EEOC, Table E1a, Charge Receipts by Basis or Statute (All Statutes) FY 1997 – FY 2025 — U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
- EEOC, Table E2a, Charges Alleging Harassment, Charge Receipts and Resolutions by Type (All Statutes), FY 2010 – FY 2025 — U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
- EEOC, Table E2c, Title VII Sexual Harassment Charge Receipts and Resolutions by Type of Resolution, FY 2010 – FY 2025; EEOC, Table E2b, Title VII Sex-Based Harassment Charge Receipts, FY 2010 – FY 2025 — U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
- Meritor Savings Bank, FSB v. Vinson, 477 U.S. 57, 67 (1986) — Library of Congress, United States Reports
- N.Y. Exec. Law § 296(1)(h) — New York State Senate, Laws of New York
- Williams, 61 A.D.3d at 76; Mihalik, 715 F.3d at 113. — static.case.law
- EEOC, Table E1c, Charge Receipts and Resolutions by Type (All Statutes), FY 1997 – FY 2025 — U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
- EEOC, Tables E2a and E2c (FY 2010 – FY 2025) — U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
- 29 C.F.R. § 1601.19(a) — Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School
- N.Y.S. Division of Human Rights, Annual Report FY2023-2024, p. 15 — New York State Division of Human Rights
- N.Y.S. Division of Human Rights, Annual Report FY2023-2024, p. 8 (PDF page) — New York State Division of Human Rights
- NYC Commission on Human Rights, Annual Report Fiscal Year 2025, "Case Determinations and Resolutions" (PDF p. 24) — City of New York
- NYC Commission on Human Rights, Annual Report Fiscal Year 2025, "Damages, Awards, and Civil Penalties"; "Office of Mediation and Conflict Resolution" (PDF pp. 27-28) — City of New York
- NYC Commission on Human Rights, "Contact Us"; "Report Discrimination" (pages read Oct. 5, 2026) — New York City Commission on Human Rights
- N.Y.C. Admin. Code § 8-109(e) — New York City Commission on Human Rights
- EEOC, "What You Can Expect After You File a Charge" (read 5 Oct 2026) — U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
- EEOC, "Mediation" — U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
- N.Y.S. Division of Human Rights, "Report Discrimination"; "What To Expect" — New York State Division of Human Rights
- Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Statistical Tables for the Federal Judiciary (June 30, 2026), Table C-5, "U.S. District Courts–Median Time Intervals From Filing to Disposition of Civil Cases Terminated, by District and Method of Disposition" — uscourts.gov
- 42 U.S.C. § 2000e(b) — Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School
- N.Y. Exec. Law § 292(5) — New York State Senate, Laws of New York
- 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(e)(1), (f)(1); N.Y. Exec. Law § 297(1), (9); N.Y.C. Admin. Code §§ 8-109(a), 8-502(a); 28 U.S.C. § 1367(a) — New York State Senate, Laws of New York