Claims of workplace discrimination rose to an all-time high during 2011, according to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The federal agency says that nearly 100,000 complaints were lodged against employers, claiming workplace discrimination. The number of complaints last year was the largest in the 46-year history of the EEOC, but the number of 2011 job bias complaints only eclipsed the previous record number set in 2010 by 25 complaints.

The EEOC says that the most significant increase in employment discrimination complaints came in the area of religious discrimination. The agency says religious discrimination complaints rose by 9.5 percent last year, followed closely by a 5 percent jump in allegations of national origin discrimination.

Many people who watch job bias issues closely say that the struggling economy is not the only issue underlying the increase in job bias complaints. Industry watchers say that increases in complaints in the areas of religious and nation origin discrimination highlight the growing diversity in the nation's workforce.

The EEOC says that charges of racial bias, gender discrimination and retaliation claims continue to lead complaints in terms of raw numbers. However, racial discrimination complaints fell by 1 percent last year. Sex discrimination claims dropped 2 percent, while complaints of sexual harassment fell 3 percent in 2011.

With the aging population in America, it is not surprising that issues of disability discrimination and age bias complaints each saw slight increases. The EEOC says complaints of age discrimination rose last year by 1 percent, while disability discrimination complaints rose 2 percent.

Source: AP via USA Today, "Job bias claims in U.S. at record level," Jan. 24, 2012