As we previously reported, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) now requires employers to disclose equal pay data on its Employer Information Report (EEO-1). The equal pay data, otherwise known as “Component 2” of the EEO-1, has been the subject of ongoing litigation. Most recently, the EEOC requested court approval to extend the deadline for employers to report Component 2 data until September 30, 2019—later than the deadline for other EEO-1 data, which is due May 31, 2019. Several organizations supporting equal pay initiatives had argued that the agency should collect the data by May 31, but the agency told the court that the May 31 deadline was not feasible.

Judge Tanya S. Chutkan of the D.C. federal district court has granted the EEOC’s request. In an Order on April 25, Judge Chutkan ruled that the EEOC must “immediately take all steps necessary to complete the EEO-1 Component 2 data collections for calendar years 2017 and 2018 by September 30, 2019.” The court further ordered the EEOC to publish a notice to employers regarding the Component 2 data collection by no later than April 29, 2019.

The court also gave the EEOC an option of foregoing Component 2 data collection for the year 2017, in favor of collecting the same data for the year 2019. If the EEOC chooses to do so, employers will have until September 30, 2019 to report 2018 Component 2 data only. The same information for 2019 will be due in the 2020 EEO-1 reporting period.