On May 14, the EEOC submitted to the Office of Management and Budget a proposed rule to terminate the requirement that employers annually provide the EEOC with workforce data information based on protected class. Employers are most familiar with the EEO-1 report, which covers private employers with 100 or more employees and federal contractors with at least 50 employees and a $50,000 contract.
The EEO-1 protected class reporting covers race, ethnicity and sex and also includes 10 job classifications. EEO-2 covers apprenticeship programs, EEO-3 covers union membership protected classes, EEO-4 covers state and local governments, and the EEO-5 report covers elementary and secondary school systems.
Considering the Trump administration’s termination of affirmative action requirements based on race and sex and its focus on discrimination arising out of DEI initiatives, it’s not surprising that the EEOC would propose eliminating the requirement to report protected class information. The EEO-1 has been used by the EEOC more to review employment trends nationally and by industry than as an investigative tool. In fact, I cannot recall any investigation by the EEOC at any EEOC office where the Commission cited the EEO-1 as a factor in the investigation.
If you have any questions or would like additional information, please contact Richard Lehr at (205) 323-9260 or rlehr@lmvtlaw.com.
