Pennsylvania ranks fifth in U.S. for workplace discrimination complaints

Among all 50 states, Pennsylvania has one of the highest rates of workers filing discrimination complaints with federal authorities, a recent study found.

With 9,556 workplace discrimination charges in 2021 — 73 per 100,000 state residents — Pennsylvania had the fifth-highest rate of discrimination.

The study was based on the most recent full year of data from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. California employment law firm Eldessouky Law recently analyzed the data and ranked states based on charges per state resident.

According to the study, retaliation was the most common type of discrimination claim filed in Pennsylvania, with 2,276 charges. This was also the most common claim across the United States. In these kinds of cases, workers allege that they were disciplined by a manager or company leader after making a formal complaint about discrimination or harassment.

Disability discrimination was the second most common kind of charge filed in Pennsylvania, and sexual discrimination was the third most common charge.

Pennsylvania was the largest state by population to make the top 10 for employment discrimination claims. It tied with Alabama for fifth place.

States with a higher rate of employment discrimination complaints were Tennessee (79 per 100,000), Arkansas (77), Georgia (76), and Nevada (75).

Workers generally must file a charge of discrimination with the EEOC before they can sue their employer for job discrimination. The EEOC pursues only a fraction of the charges filed, but in other instances, the commission will notify workers of their right to sue the employer themselves.

At the end of its most recent fiscal year, the EEOC said it filed 143 new employment discrimination lawsuits, which was a 50% increase from the year before.