THE ROLLERCOASTER RIDE OF EEO-1 PAY DATA REPORTING

by | Mar 12, 2019

A federal court has reinstated the pay-data collection and reporting requirements for federal revised EEO-1 form filings.  The requirements, instituted during the Obama administration, obligate businesses with at least 100 employees and federal contractors with at least 50 employees and a contract of $50,000 or more with the federal government to report pay data by race, ethnicity and sex.  These additional requirements were suspended by the Trump administration in 2017.   The court determined the government did not have proper justification to suspend implementation of the reporting requirement. The court decision leaves employers in an uncertain situation.  Many covered employers likely have already collected 2018 EEO-1 data and prepared for the reporting deadline of May 31st without including pay data.  It is unknown whether the decision will impact the current reporting period, or whether the government will appeal the court’s decision.  If the court ruling is appealed and is stayed pending appeal, employers may not be required to report pay data this reporting cycle. To complicate matters, the reporting portal may not be prepared to include employee pay data by the May 31st deadline, which could result in an extension of time to report. Due to uncertainty about what will happen, employers should be ready to submit the pay-data component of the EEO-1 report.  To the extent employers have not already done so, they should begin collecting the required pay data, as employers have been on notice of the possibility of having to report, and the EEOC may require immediate reporting.  We will provide updates as we hear more from the government, courts and EEOC.  If you have any questions about this requirement or whether it may apply to your business, please contact Baylor Evnen’s employment lawyers: Torrey Gerdes, Susan Foster or Christopher Schmidt.
[/et_pb_section]