As the calendar turns over and employers start preparing for 2022, the annual EEO-1 reporting obligation may or may not be on the top of the “To-Do” list, and understandably so.  However, it should be.

The EEOC has provided recent updates about timing of the required filing and announced the discontinuation of the use of Type 6 reports for multi-establishment employers.

In an announcement posted on the EEO-1 reporting website, EEOC reiterated the “tentatively scheduled” opening of the 2021 EEO-1 Component 1 data collection portal to be April 12, 2022 with the deadline for filing to be May 17, 2022, just 6 weeks later.   No explanation was provided for the shortened reporting window.  However, the reporting deadline has been subject to limited extension in past years.

In addition to providing the update on the portal opening and reporting deadline, the most recent update announced EEOC’s discontinuation of the Type 6 Establishment Report for employers who have establishments with fewer than 50 employees.  Instead, employers will now be required to use the Type 8 report.  Citing the Agency’s continuing efforts of “modernization” and work to improve the quality of data, the EEOC says the change will

allow the EEOC to collect more accurate employee demographic data in support of the agency’s mission to prevent and remedy unlawful employment discrimination and advance equal opportunity for all in the workplace.

Type 6 reports allowed employers to report only the total number of employees at an establishment with fewer than 50 employees, in lieu of providing demographic data by EEO-1 category for each location.  By comparison, the Type 8 Report requires submission of demographic data for an employer’s small establishments.  See EEOC’s updated Fact Sheet for more information on the various types of EEO-1 Reports.

The discontinuation of the Type 6 is not wholly unexpected after the Agency curtailed the availability of the report during the 2019 and 2020 reporting periods to only those employers who had previously submitted Type 6 Reports.  The notice states

All filers who were permitted to submit a Type 6 Report for the 2019/2020 EEO-1 Component 1 data collections have been notified via email regarding the discontinuation of the Type 6 Report so these filers may prepare for the opening of the 2021 EEO-1 Component 1 filing using Type 8 Reports.

We will continue to monitor this situation and provide any new updates.