With certain exceptions, private sector employers with more than 100 employees must file the EEO-1 report annually.  Certain federal contractors must file the report if they have 50 employees or more.  

That is not news. Since the 1960’s covered employers have been required to provide the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission with a breakdown of the workforce by race, sex, and job category. The EEOC has published guides and FAQs, which can be found here.

The news concerns what is called “Component 2” data.  In 2016, the Obama administration added certain pay data to the EEO-1 form’s reporting requirements. The purpose of the new information is to help the EEOC determine whether employers are paying employees lawfully under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the Equal Pay Act of 1963.  

But the Trump administration stayed the requirement in 2017.  Litigation ensued.  Earlier this year, a district court ordered the government to lift its stay and begin collecting the Component 2 pay data.  The US DOJ has appealed the ruling.  However, it’s unclear whether the district court’s ruling will be stayed pending appeal.

Now, the EEOC has published a notice to employers, in which the agency has set a September 30, 2019 deadline for employers to file the Component 2 data for 2017 and 2018.  The EEOC’s notice is here.  

Note that Component 1 data (the race, sex, and job categories that are part of the original EEO-1 form remain due by May 31, 2019).  

It is May 9, 2019 as of the time of this writing. So employers have to hustle to comply with the Component 2 filing deadline.  Consult with your employment counsel about how to comply by the deadline.