The cases filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission during its recently concluded fiscal year reflect a focus on workplace accommodation obligations under the Americans with Disabilities Act, as well as pregnancy and religious discrimination laws.

Duane Morris LLP partner Gerald Maatman, who chairs the management-side firm's Class Action Defense Team and has long tracked EEOC enforcement trends, called the agency's direction over the past year "remarkable." He said many experts expected a significant spike in the volume of new lawsuits, but that increase didn't transpire.

Maatman noted that the agency started operating with a full quorum of commissioners once its newest member, Commissioner Brittany Bull Panuccio, was confirmed days into fiscal year 2026, after the agency had operated without a quorum for most of the prior year.

"It filed less than 100 merit lawsuits in FY 2026 — like the year before — despite what many believed would be a rebound year in FY 2026 given that the agency regained its quorum in October 2025 and Republican Commissioner Andrea Lucas began as the EEOC chair in November 2025," Maatman said. "With the removal of any significant obstacles to litigation activity, the EEOC was [poised] for a blockbuster year. But an EEOC filing surge never materialized."

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