Have you Filed Your EEO-1 Reports this Year? (2024)

Who is Required to File?

Many large employers and longtime government contractors know about the EEOC requirement, but a surprising number of covered medium sized businesses and new contract holders are completely in the dark regarding the filing process and deadlines. They may have grown or taken on a new project that makes them covered employers, but never received notice that they have crossed the threshold into EEO-1 territory. EEO-1 reports are mandatory, not optional, for covered employers.

The following employers are required to file an EEO-1 report:

• Any private employer with 100 or more employees that is covered by Title VII;
• Any private employer covered by Title VII, regardless of the number of employees, if it has a joint employer relationship with another entity and together the entities have 100 or more employees;
• Any federal employer with 50 or more employees that is a prime contractor or first-tier subcontractor with $50,000 or more in federal contracts.

What Data Must Be Collected?

The EEO-1 report collects workforce demographic data, known as “Component 1” data. This includes: employees’ race, ethnicity, and gender across ten specific job categories. The preferred method of collecting this information is self-identification. Employers give all new hires a voluntary questionnaire during onboarding. If an employee refuses to disclose, employment records or observation are used. A “snapshot” period is used to capture and report the data. The snapshot period is any pay period in the fourth quarter of the reporting year chosen by the employer. When the employer has selected the snapshot period, the employer makes a tally of employees by race, gender, and ethnicity by job category. For example, if an employer had six employees working as administrative support workers, the employer would report how many of the six identified as female and how many identified as make. If half of the employees were white and half the employees were Black, the employer would report three white employees and three Black employees in the administrative support worker category.

How Does an Employer File?

All reporting is now done online through an online filing system. Employers must create an account using an email address and submit data electronically. The EEOC does not accept workplace demographic data in paper format or by email.

Single-establishment employers, or employers with only one location, are required to file one report. Multi-establishment employers must file a “headquarters” report. This provides data on all employees who work in the main office or central location, an “establishment” report for each worksite or branch location. Additionally, you must include a a “consolidated” report including both headquarters and establishment data. Remote employees are counted in the location from which they receive their orders, or where their managers are located.

When Must an Employer File?

Data collection for 2023 Component 1 data opened on April 30, 2024, and will close on Tuesday, June 4, 2024. Employers who miss the June 4 deadline are given a grace period that will end at 11 pm EDT on Tuesday, July 9. No Component 1 data will be accepted after that time. Employers who fail to provide data by the end of the grace period will not be allowed to submit 2023 data in the 2024 reporting period.

What Are the Consequences for Failing to File on Time?

Employers may be subject to a lawsuit brought by the EEOC. The EEOC has made EEO-1 compliance a recent priority. The EEOC filed suit against 15 employers in different industries on Tuesday, a sharp increase over the last 16 years. In the event of a lawsuit, the EEOC would ask that the employer be ordered to submit late reports and comply with future EEO-1 reporting. Congress has given the EEOC the authority to seek court costs and “such further relief as the Court deems necessary and proper in the public interest.”

Most Important Takeaway

If you have collected your Component 1 data and have not reported it yet, the time to report is now. Delay can be extremely harmful.

If you are in one of the groups of employers that is required to report Component 1 data and this is all new information, don’t panic. An experienced employment law attorney can assist you.

EEO-1 Support is Available

myHRcounsel© advises employers who are required to file data for EEO-1 filings as part of our ASK HR subscription. Through the subscription, businesses have unlimited access to employment attorneys for help tracking EEO-1 reporting deadlines, and receiving advice on what is required to be filed. Contact us at: info@myhrcounsel.com for more information and a demo of our services