The Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (“MCAD” or “Commission”) has released its Fiscal Year 2025 (“FY25”) Annual Report, covering July 1, 2024 – June 30, 2025. The report reflects a year of transition for the agency, including leadership stabilization, structural reforms, increased outreach and continued progress toward replacing its case‑management system. For employers, the report offers important insight into filing trends, backlog conditions, investigative outcomes and adjudicatory activity over the past year.

Complaints Filed in FY25

FY25 saw 3,243 new complaints, continuing the multi‑year trend of elevated filing volume. Of these, 82% (2,658 total) were employment complaints, which remain the overwhelming majority of MCAD filings.

By category, the most frequently raised claims were retaliation (23.8%) and disability (21.9%). Race/color and sex also comprised a substantial number of the claims totaling (16.2%) and (15%) respectively. The remaining categories included age (8.5%); national origin (5.7%); religion and creed (2.1%); and sexual orientation (1.7%).

The FY25 Backlog

The FY25 Annual Report confirms that the MCAD backlog remains a significant operational challenge. As of fiscal year‑end, 2,342 non‑housing cases were more than 18 months old, continuing a multi‑year increase. While the agency successfully retained staff and backfilled several investigator positions, these improvements have not yet reduced the inventory of aging cases.

The...

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