During her keynote speech to open the second day of the NILG 2022 National Conference, EEOC Vice Chair Jocelyn Samuels hinted that an announcement involving the Agency and pay equity would be coming soon.

True to her word, this afternoon EEOC announced it will be holding a press conference tomorrow at 12:00 ET to discuss the results of an independent study conducted by the National Acad­emies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Committee on National Statistics.  As a reminder, following the contentious collection of pay data in 2020, the EEOC commissioned the study to examine the EEO-1 Component 2 pay data reporting and recommend the most effective use for the pay data as well as identify areas of improvement for future collections.  The release of the report has been anticipated for months.

With respect to pay data collection, the Vice Chair explained  the tool is intended to assist employers identify issues to allow them to address pay discrimination.

Vice Chair Samuels also shared with conference attendees the Agency’s thoughts on the impact of COVID on workforces, its position on vaccines and testing as well as its stance on COVID related accommodations.  She spoke about the impact of recent U.S. Supreme Court cases on gender identify, sexual orientation and non-binary individuals and pregnancy discrimination.  She also spoke to the Agency’s Artificial Intelligence strategic initiative and enforcement of retaliation and harassment.  She noted that the Agency is in the process of updating its Strategic Enforcement plan and is planning to seek input from stakeholders into its development.

Noting that

[e]quity is the rising tide that lifts all boats.

Vice Chair Samuels’ message shared the sentiment and the overall theme and focus of the conference.