Every year, private sector employers with 100 or more employees, and federal contractors with 50 or more employees who met certain criteria, are required to submit workforce demographic data to the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Such employers may also be required to file similar reports under applicable state laws. The federal filing is known as the EEO-1 Report. While the authority for the report comes primarily from a federal statute, recent Executive Orders and changing EEOC Guidance surrounding race, gender, DEI and affirmative action have caused some employers, including manufacturers, to question what their current reporting responsibilities are for this year. To that end, below are several key points that employers filing EEO-1 reports need to know:

• Private employers that meet the threshold criteria noted above are still required to file EEO-1 reports. The EEOC announced that the 2024 EEO-1 Component 1 data collection opened on May 20, 2025. The deadline for submitting and certifying 2024 EEO-1 Component 1 Reports is June 24, 2025.
• Note that this is a shorter collection period for employers and according to the EEOC, this period will not extend past the June 24, 2025 deadline.
• Unlike past years, the EEOC will only be sending electronic notices to filers. No notifications about this collection period will be sent via postal mail. This includes letters of non-compliance after the collection period has closed.
• Previously, employers were allowed to submit employee information under a non-binary designation. That has since been removed. Employers must report employees’ biological sex meaning they must select male or female when reporting this information.
• Note that no organization may use the information collected in its EEO-1 report to justify treating employees differently based on their race, sex, or any other protected characteristic.

Employers subject to the filing requirement should take the steps necessary to meet next month’s reporting deadline. Employers that require assistance with EEO-1 reporting and related compliance with such laws, should consult competent legal counsel.

This post was co-authored by Labor + Employment Group lawyer Bryce Simmons.