Federal officials say they are receiving an increasing number of complaints of disability-based job discrimination.
For the second year in a row, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said charges of job bias related to disability hit an all-time high, reaching 28,073 for the 2016 fiscal year.
The new record comes as the EEOC said it recorded an overall uptick in charges across all 10 types of workplace discrimination that the agency investigates.
Of the disability-related charges, the EEOC said 5,680 were resolved in favor of the person who brought the complaint. The agency collected $131 million in monetary benefits for individuals harmed.
The EEOC has tracked disability-related workplace discrimination since 1992. In addition, the agency also monitors employment discrimination complaints related to race, color, sex, age, religion, retaliation, pay equity, genetic information and national origin.
Overall, the EEOC received 91,503 charges of job-based discrimination in 2016. Nearly a third of complaints cited disability. Disability Scoop