Components 1 and 2 of the EEO-1: The deadline for employers to file EEO-1 reports for Component 1 data is fast approaching. Unless employers request an extension, which will be automatically granted until June 14, 2019, Component 1 EEO-1 reports are due on May 31, 2019.

With regard to Component 2 (pay and hours worked data), on May 28, 2019, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) notified the federal district court monitoring the agency’s implementation of this component that it is on track to:

• Update its website for employer filers to include contact information for helpdesk services on June 3, 2019;
• Roll out a “fully staffed helpdesk” on June 17, 2019, to answer questions that filers submitted via email and telephone ; and
• Open the 2017/2018 Component 2 reporting portal on July 15, 2019.

Federal Contractor Question in Section C-3: Also of note for EEO-1 filers is a change in how employers may designate federal contractor status for its entities/establishments. In years’ past, multi-establishment employers could manually differentiate federal contractor status for their subsidiaries or affiliates that do not have federal contracts and are not “integrated enterprises.” With the 2018 filing, any establishment’s “yes” answer to question C-3—“Does the company or any of its establishments . . . a prime government contractor or first-tier subcontractor”—will automatically default to “yes” for all establishments under the same parent company, even if one or more is not a federal contractor or subcontractor.

While this change may appear to be technical in nature, note that the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has long used EEO-1 reports to select contractors for compliance reviews (audits). This change in EEOC’s filing procedures may result in noncontractors’ selection for compliance reviews and potentially creates a new burden for these employers, which will need to disprove OFCCP’s jurisdictional assumptions if selected for a compliance evaluation. This change may create additional complications if OFCCP follows through with its plan to develop technology to collect affirmative action program data on an annual basis as identified in OFCCP’s Affirmative Action Program Verification Initiative.