A newly published study by Fairchild Employment Law analyzed 16 years of Equal Employment Opportunity Commission charge data across all 50 states and Washington, D.C. The finding that stands out above the rest is that disability discrimination has quietly become the most commonly filed workplace discrimination charge in the U.S.

The study found that race discrimination still leads in the cumulative 16-year count with 463,950 total charges. But since 2019, disability has surpassed race every single year as the most filed charge type nationally. In 23 states, disability is already the leading charge type overall.

Why Is This Happening?

Several factors are driving the numbers. The workforce is aging, which naturally increases the number of workers with qualifying conditions under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The ADA Amendments Act of 2008 also significantly broadened the legal definition of disability, expanding protections for millions of workers just before the study’s 16-year window opened.

Perhaps the biggest driver is one that often catches employers off guard: mental health. Depression, anxiety, ADHD, bipolar disorder, and other mental health conditions now receive far greater recognition as covered disabilities under the ADA. Many employers still do not realize that an employee requesting a mental health accommodation may be legally entitled to one. Denying that request can constitute discrimination.

The Bigger Trend

The disability findings sit inside a larger national pattern that the study documents in detail. After peaking at 132,720 charges in 2011, national discrimination filings declined steadily for a decade before hitting a low of 88,142 in 2021. That decline has reversed sharply, and by fiscal year 2024, filings had surged back to 128,790, nearly erasing the full decade of decline in just a few years.

The geographic picture is just as striking. Seven of the ten states with the highest discrimination rates are in the South, with Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, and Tennessee all sharing race discrimination as their leading charge type. On the other end of the spectrum, Maine logs the lowest rate in the country at just 57 charges per 100,000 residents. This rate is roughly 38 times lower than Washington D.C., which tops the rankings at 2,194.

What This Means for Workers

If you have a disability, including a mental health condition, and your employer has denied an accommodation request, demoted you, or treated you differently because of it, you may have grounds for an EEOC discrimination charge. The data makes clear that workers across the country are filing these claims in growing numbers, and the legal framework to support them has never been stronger.