Compliance Corner: Q&A on EEO-1 Reporting Requirements

Business growth is always welcomed, but it typically comes with added responsibilities, especially those related to ensuring compliance with employee-related laws and regulations.

In this month’s Compliance Corner blog, isolved People Services HR Consultant Rachel Barr is answering common questions about ensuring compliance with the Employer Information Report, also known as the EEO-1 Report. Read the Q&A below to learn more about EEO-1 reporting requirements and the information needed to file it.*

1. What is an EEO-1 Report and who is required to complete one?

The EEO-1 Report is a compliance survey mandated by federal statute and regulations. The survey requires company employment data to be categorized by race/ethnicity, gender and job category.

All employers with at least 100 employees are required to file component 1 data reports annually with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC ). Federal government contractors and first-tier subcontractors with at least 50 employees and at least $50,000 in contracts must also file component 1 data.

2. Why are EEO-1 Reports important?

EEO-1 Reports are mandated by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. The reports provide important information on the composition of an employers’ workforce, including statistics for gender and racial/ethnic diversity.

3. Where can I obtain the EEO-1 Reporting form for my business?

There is not a specific EEO-1 Reporting form for businesses to use, but there are reports that an employer can run based off of employees’ profile information obtained during hiring or throughout employment. The data is what will be used when filling out the EEO-1 Report electronically.

The isolved platform houses the EEO-1 Report for employers who track employee demographic information and is a great way to easily track and gather the data needed to file the report.

4. Who should fill out my business’s EEO-1 Report?

A company representative must file the EEO-1 Report for an applicable employer. Typically, the HR or operations leader would be the department in charge of gathering the information and submitting the data.

5. What is the EEO-1 Report deadline and how often does it need to be revised?

EEO-1 Reports are submitted annually, typically at the end of Q1/start of Q2, and should contain data for the preceding year. The exact date that the report opens up for employers to begin submitting, as well as the submission deadline, changes slightly each year and is determined by the EEOC.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the EEOC postponed opening EEO-1 Reporting for 2020 (for 2019 data). Businesses can start submitting 2019 and 2020 EEO-1 Report data on April 1, 2021.

6. Which employees need to be included in EEO-1 Reporting?

All full-time and part-time employees who were employed during the payroll period selected by the employer, between October 1 and December 31, must be included in the EEO-1 Report.

Employees hired for employment on a casual basis, for a specified time, for the duration of a specified job, leased employees and temporary employees are not to be included in EEO-1 Reports.

7. How should I identify my employees’ ethnicity?

It’s required for all applicable employers to gather employee ethnicity data through self-identification (meaning the employee will self-identify their ethnicity). If any employee declines to self-identify, the EEOC allows employers to consult with employee-provided information when onboarded or the employer may use visual observation.

8. How should I identify my employees’ gender?

It’s required for all applicable employers to gather employee gender data through self-identification (meaning the employee will self-identify their gender). If any employee declines to self-identify, the EEOC allows employers to consult with employee-provided information when onboarded or the employer may use visual observation.

As of now, there are only two options for gender on the Component 1 report: male and female. There are discussions of adding a third option, non-binary, to Component 1 data. However, there is no set date on if/when this option may happen.

9. How is the data from my EEO-1 Report used?

The EEOC and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) use the data to support civil rights enforcement and to analyze employment patterns, such as the representation of women and minorities within companies, industries or regions.

10. If I have multiple offices in different states/regions, do I need to submit multiple reports?

Each federal employer identification number (FEIN) will be required to submit its own EEO-1 Report. Within each FEIN EEO-1 Report, the company will select if it’s a single-establishment or multi-establishment employer. Employers with multi-establishments will complete the following reports:

1. A report covering the principal or headquarters office

2. A separate report for each establishment employing 50 or more persons (including remote employees who are tied to that work location)

3. A separate report for each establishment employing fewer than 50 employees OR an Establishment List showing the name, address and total employment for each establishment employing fewer than 50 persons (including remote employees who are tied to that work location)

11. Do I need to include remote employees in the report?

Yes, all full-time and part-time employees must be included in the EEO-1 Report, even if the employee(s) works remotely.

* This blog is not legal advice. Please seek proper legal advice.

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Sources:

1. “EEO-1 Data Collection.” U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, www.eeoc.gov/employers/eeo-1-survey.

2. New Scheduled 2021 Openings of EEOC Data Collections, eeocdata.org/.