By a 2-1 vote along party lines, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is moving ahead with its proposal to eliminate workforce demographic data requirements. EEO-1 applies to employers with 100 or more employees and some federal contractors, and EEO-2 through EEO-6 impose similar requirements on labor unions, public schools, and state and local government employers. The move to rescind these longstanding requirements is yet another indicator of the agency’s shift away from enforcing certain aspects of federal civil rights laws. The proposal will now have a public comment period after publication in the Federal Register.
The EEO Data Reports have traditionally collected workforce data on race, ethnicity, sex, and job category. The data submission requirement was intended to allow the EEOC to identify potential discrimination and establish enforcement priorities. However, supporters of the EEOC proposal praise it for reducing regulatory burdens on employers and refocusing EEOC enforcement resources on actual incidents of unlawful discrimination.
Furthermore, EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas stated that the EEO Data Reports conflict with Title VII and Supreme Court decisions that require employment practices to be “colorblind.” Even without the currently required demographic data, the EEOC still has the authority to request specific records from employers that are germane to investigating a charge.
In contrast, critics of the EEOC proposal claim that losing this critical demographic data will hinder the agency's ability to identify systemic discrimination and workplace trends. Some worry that failure to collect the data will obscure and facilitate active employment discrimination.
The EEOC previously issued a similar proposal to the White House earlier this year. Although the EEOC voted to rescind the data reporting requirements, those requirements remain in effect until the agency issues a final regulation after the rulemaking process concludes. As a result, covered employers should continue to submit EEO Data Reports as required until further notice.
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