Enhanced EEO-1 Form Reporting Requirements Stayed

Enhanced EEO-1 Form Reporting Requirements Stayed

Late last month, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a memorandum indefinitely staying the expanded reporting requirements of the new EEO-1 form. Given the burdens associated with enhanced data collection, the announcement is great news for employers.

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As detailed in a prior article, the federal government currently uses EEO-1 reports to collect race, ethnicity, sex, and job category data from private employers. In September 2016, the EEOC revised the rule to also collect pay data from employers, including federal contractors, with more than 100 employees.

The amendments would specifically add aggregate data on pay ranges and hours worked to the information collected. According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the new pay data would provide the agency with insight into pay disparities across industries and occupations. It could then use the information to evaluate employment discrimination complaints, identify investigation targets, and detect pay disparities trends that may warrant additional study.

Slated to take effect on March 31, 2018, the OMB has now halted implementation indefinitely. In her memo to the EEOC, Neomi Rao, Administrator, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, stated that the OMB is “initiating a review and immediate stay of the effectiveness of those aspects of the EEO-1 form that were revised on September 29, 2016.”

The memo outlines several reasons for the stay. Notably, the OMB is “concerned that some aspects of the revised collection of information lack practical utility, are unnecessarily burdensome, and do not adequately address privacy and confidentiality issues.”

What’s Next?

The EEOC can continue to use the previously approved EEO-1 form to collect data on race/ethnicity and gender during the review and stay. Employers should use the previously approved EEO-1 form in order to comply with their reporting obligations for FY 2017. The deadline is March 31, 2018.

In response to the OMB’s stay, Acting EEOC Chair Victoria Lipnic stated: “The EEOC remains committed to strong enforcement of our federal equal pay laws, a position I have long advocated. Today’s decision will not alter EEOC’s enforcement efforts.”

Accordingly, gender pay equity will remain a priority for the EEOC. The decision to stay the EEO-1 reporting requirements will also likely have no impact on state-level efforts to address the use of salary history and increase pay transparency.

Do you have any questions? Would you like to discuss the matter further? If so, please contact me, Sean Dias, at 201-806-3364.