The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on Tuesday voted to advance a proposal that would end a nearly 60-year-old requirement for millions of employers to report the race and sex demographics of their workforce to the federal government.
In 1966, the newly formed EEOC enacted its EEO-1 reporting requirement, mandating that employers with 100 or more employees submit an annual disclosure of their workforce’s demographic makeup by race, sex, and job category. The requirement has since expanded to include state and local government employers, unions, and apprenticeship programs. The EEOC on Tuesday voted to issue a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to rescind these reporting requirements and their associated record keeping rules under 29 CFR Part 1602 which regulates how the covered employers collect and submit their data.
Tuesday’s vote passed 2-1, with EEOC Commissioner Kalpana Kotagal, the panel’s lone registered Democrat, alone voting against the measure. In a press release, EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas elaborated on the decision:
The proposed rescission of the EEO Data Reports reaffirms the founding principle that every individual is created equal and therefore is entitled to equal treatment under the law…the EEO Data Reports stand in direct tension with Title VII’s requirement that employment practices be colorblind. Collecting such data about employees’ race and sex—absent any specific allegation of discrimination—not only risks hindering effective enforcement of equal employment laws but also raises constitutional concerns.
Beyond constitutional and regulatory concerns, the EEOC estimates that recision of this reporting mandate will save employers $275 million annually. Critics argue that the collected aggregate data helps regulators and researchers identify patterns of discrimination not captured via individual reporting.
Tuesday’s vote authorizes publication of the NPRM, which triggers a 30-day period for public comment. A public hearing on the matter will be held on August 11.
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