Ready, set, report!

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has opened the EEO-1 data collection to begin gathering 2021 data. (Since the EEOC “strongly encourages eligible filers to begin the filing process as soon as possible” and the deadline is May 17, 2022, employers subject to this requirement need to act quickly.

Who must comply? All private sector employers with 100 or more employees and certain federal contractors are required to annually submit workforce demographics including data by race/ethnicity, sex, and job categories. Employers must count all full- and part-time employees during a specified workforce snapshot pay period from October through December.

The federal contractors that must file include contractors or subcontractors that:

1. Have 50 or more employees;
2. Are a prime contractor or first tier subcontractor; and
3. Have a contract, subcontract, or purchase order amounting to $50,000 or more, or serves as a depository of government funds in any amount, or is a financial institution which is an issuing and paying agent for U.S. savings bonds and savings notes.

Subcontractors below the first tier that perform construction work at the site of construction must file an EEO-1 report if they meet #1 and #3 above.

The laws behind this requirement are Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, and Executive Order 11246. The information is reported to the EEOC and the Department of Labor.

In addition to fulfilling a government requirement, the data collected may be a helpful tool for employers looking to assess their company’s diversity efforts.