The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) requires employers with at least 100 employees (and federal contractors with at least 50 employees) to file an EEO-1 Report with a count of employees by establishment and job category with race, ethnicity, and gender information for each employee.  This part of the EEO-1 is now referred to as Component 1.

In 2016, the EEOC implemented a pay data requirement for the EEO-1 Report, referred to as Component 2.  Component 2 requires the disclosure of the total number of full- and part-time employees by demographic category divided into 12 pay bands for each EEO-1 job category, and hours worked by all employees in each band.

Before the original deadline for Component 2 pay data, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) paused the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s collection of Component 2 pay data. A lawsuit initiated by both the National Women’s Law Center and the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement followed, arguing that the OMB’s decision halting the expanded data collection was without cause. National Women’s Law Center v. Office of Management and Budget, Case No. 1:17-cv-02458-TSC. This case remains pending in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.  The Court’s August 25, 2018 ruling in this case reinstated the requirement to collect Component 2 data.

What now?

Employers must report Component 1 gender, race and ethnicity information for all covered employees on a single payroll date between October 1, 2018 and December 31, 2018.

The portal will remain open for filing Component 1 data until May 31, 2019.  Employers who need an extension to meet the Component 1 deadline may contact the EEOC for a one-time 2-week extension by contacting E1.EXTENSIONS@EEOC.GOV.  An employer requesting a longer extension must provide the EEOC with a rationale therefor. Requests for extensions will not be accepted after May 31, 2019.

When is Component 2 pay data due? 

Following the Court’s ruling in National Women’s Law Center, the EEOC first indicated it would likely begin collecting Component 2 data for both calendar years 2017 and 2018 starting sometime in mid-July. Further, the current published deadline for submission Component 2 data is September 30, 2019.

EEOC Chair Victoria Lipnic acknowledged that these “first-ever pay data collections,” which are now required in a relatively short time frame, will be difficult to accomplish. However, the EEOC is “committed to meeting the Court’s order, working with employers, and making this happen by the end of September.”

On May 3, 2019, the Department of Justice filed a Notice of Appeal in the National Women’s Law Center case, which does not stay the current district court orders or alter EEO-1 filers' obligations to submit Component 2 data.

What now?

Employers should review our previous post for additional insights on EEO-1 reports, and how to avoid common pitfalls when preparing employer Component 1 data. Employers should also consider hiring experienced counsel to assist with filing their Component 1 and 2 data, in light of these new requirements. Polsinelli will continue to provide updates on the filing of Component 2 data when as it becomes available.