Employers should consider beginning to review and prepare the report data well in advance of the extended filing deadline to ensure its accuracy.

For more than 50 years, the federal government has required larger employers to file an annual EEO-1 report containing demographic information of their workforce. However, on May 7, 2020, in recognition of the challenges that businesses across America are facing in the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) delayed the expected 2020 deadline to file the 2019 EEO-1 report until March 2021.

EEO-1 Report Background

All employers with at least 100 employees are required to file an annual EEO-1 report with the EEOC that identifies the number of employees by job category, race, ethnicity and sex. This data collection is referred to as “Component 1” data. Additionally, federal government contractors and subcontractors generally must file the annual EEO-1 report if they have 50 or more employees and either: (1) are prime contractors or first-tier subcontractors and have a contract, subcontract or purchase order amounting to $50,000 or more; (2) serve as a depository of government funds in any amount; or (3) are a financial institution that is an issuing and paying agent. During the Obama administration, the EEOC issued new regulations requiring employers filing an EEO-1 report to include so-called “Component 2” data on employee pay and hours worked. In 2019, employers were required to file the Component 2 data with their EEO-1 report, which covered 2017 and 2018 data. However, in 2019 the EEOC announced that it would not be collecting Component 2 data moving forward.

What Information Must Be Submitted in March 2021?

The EEOC was expected to open the window for employers to submit EEO-1 Component 1 data for 2019 later this year. With the filing deadline now delayed to March 2021, covered employers still must prepare to file Component 1 data for 2019 and 2020. In light of the EEOC’s 2019 announcement that it would not collect Component 2 data from employers moving forward, the delayed filing should not include the Component 2 report of employee pay and hours worked data.

What This Means for Employers

Covered employers anticipating that the EEOC would open the EEO-1 report filing window this year were given a reprieve from their obligation to file an EEO-1 report in 2020. Importantly, however, the EEOC’s announcement does not eliminate the obligation to file a report for 2019 Component 1 data; it only delays the filing deadline to March 2021. When the March deadline arrives, employers will need to file EEO-1 reports for both 2019 and 2020. Employers should consider beginning to review and prepare the report data well in advance of the extended filing deadline to ensure its accuracy. If employers have any questions about whether the EEO-1 filing requirement applies to them, which employees are covered in this data collection or the scope and format of the data required to be submitted, they should consult with legal counsel.

For More Information

If you have any questions about this Alert, please contact Christopher D. Durham, Fatima Guillen-Walsh, any of the attorneys in our Employment, Labor, Benefits and Immigration Practice Group or the attorney in the firm with whom you are in regular contact.

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