The EEOC charge priority policy and claimants with psychiatric disabilities

Objective: In June 1995 the U,S, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (E EOC) instituted a new charge priority policy, Under the new policy, charges are classified as one of three priority levels during or immediately after intake. Only charges assigned a high priority receive a full investigation , This paper examines the effect of the charge priority policy on individua ls with psychiatric disabilities who filed Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) charges with the EEOC. Methods: Using data extracted from the EEOC's charge data system, the authors analyzed all 66,298 ADA claims prioritized and closed between June 1995 and March 1998, The z test for difference in p roportions and the generalized estimating equations procedure were used. Th e primary outcome measure was the priority assignment received by ADA claim ants. Results: Charges that received a high priority assignment were more l ikely. to result in benefits for claimants. Charges filed by claimants with psychiatric disabilities were significantly less likely to be assigned a h igh priority than charges filed by other claimants, Claimants with psychiat ric disabilities were also significantly less likely to benefit from their claims. Conclusions: The strong relationship between being assigned high pr iority and receiving benefits as a result of filing a charge demonstrates t he importance of accurate priority categorization, The finding that people with psychiatric disabilities are less likely than others to benefit from t heir claims is cause for concern, particularly given the fact that the accu racy of the charge prioritization system has not been validated.