Contributors

Jennifer Woo Burns

Of Counsel

As we previously reported, in an effort to better address pay disparity issues based on gender and race, the Obama-era EEOC announced in February 2016 that it would seek to revise the EEO-1 data collection report that employers with 100 or more employees and certain federal contractors are required to file each year with sex, race and ethnicity data concerning their workforces. Specifically, the report would be expanded to contain a “Component 2” that would include data on employees’ W-2 earnings and hours worked. However, in August 2017, the current administration froze this new requirement in order to re-evaluate whether the burden it would impose on employers is justified. This resulted in litigation by groups who sought to have the proposed new requirements upheld. A federal district court agreed and ordered the EEOC to more forward with the new expanded EEO-1 reporting requirements.

However, in April 2019, the EEOC reported that it would be unable to comply with the Court’s current timeline of collecting the Component 2 data by May 31, 2019, stating that it would need until September 30, 2019 to be able to collect 2018 data through the use of private contractors. As such, employers will not have to submit any Component 2 data in the immediate future, however, the May 31, 2019 deadline still stands for the original EEO-1 report data that employers have had to provide in the past.

It is uncertain whether the new September 30, 2019 deadline will stick, as there is now pushback from business advocacy groups and possible further appeals. If the Component 2 data reporting is ultimately required, the EEOC indicated that it would be issuing guidance on the mechanics of the additional reporting. Accordingly, we will update you with any further developments or requirements.