Discrimination charges filed with the EEOC or its state counterparts have grown by 50% from 1989 to 1996 (to approximately 150,000 a year).  The number of new lawsuits filed annually for employment discrimination is growing by over 20% a year and now totals in excess of 70,000, exceeding the number of new products liability suits brought annually.

Employment law is extremely complex and dynamic, changing continuously as a result of federal, state and local legislation, administrative rulings, and court precedent.  While certain laws apply only to employers above a certain size (i.e. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act applies to employers of 15 employees or more), this does not exempt smaller employers from exposure.  Thirty-seven states have statutes that lower these thresholds, in some cases to included every employer.  Further, employees can sue under common law for "wrongs" they perceive were committed against them by pursuing traditional legal theories of negligence or intentional torts.  Finally societal standards have changed dramatically over recent years and employees are increasingly aware of their legal rights, and increasingly willing to aggressively pursue them.