Initial Notice of Immediate Reinstatement of Revised EEO-1 Pay Data Collection

The EEOC began sending out their “Initial Notice of Immediate Reinstatement of Revised EEO-1:  Pay Data Collection for Calendar Years 2017 and 2018” via email, alerting companies of the requirement to file Component 2 EEO-1 reports by September 30, 2019.  The next communication from the EEOC will be a letter sent later this month via USPS that will contain the company’s User ID.

Please be advised that companies will receive their User ID from NORC via notification letter mailed through USPS and to the registered EEO-1 email address on record. Password will be setup during initial entry into the Component 2 EEO-1 Online Filing System and after User ID, FEIN, and email address is verified.

The web-based portal for the submission of the Component 2 EEO-1 reports for 2017 and 2018 will be active by July 15, 2019 via the Component 2 EEO-1 Online Filing System. Employers will be notified when this filing system is available. At this time, employers can find more information about the Component 2 EEO-1 Compensation Data Collection at https://eeoccomp2.norc.org.

Please note: Although the Department of Justice filed a Notice of Appeal in this lawsuit, that notice does not stay the district court orders or alter EEO-1 filers' obligations to submit 2017 and 2018 Component 2 data. EEO-1 filers should begin preparing to submit Component 2 data.

EEOC Announces Collection of 2017 and 2018 Pay Data

May 3, 2019 - The EEOC has announced that the collection of 2017 and 2018 Summary Pay Data and Hours Worked (EEO-1 Component 2) will be required from EEO-1 filers (meeting specific headcount requirements) by September 30, 2019. The EEOC expects to begin collecting EEO-1 Component 2 data for calendar years 2017 and 2018 in mid-July 2019.  Although there is a chance that an appeals court could place another stay on the summary pay data and hours worked reporting requirement, or the regulations could be modified, employers should start taking action immediately under the assumption that all of this information will need to be disclosed by the recently announced due date.

Employers Must Submit EEO-1 Pay Data by September 30

A federal judge ordered the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to collect employee pay data—sorted by race, ethnicity and sex—by Sept. 30.

The plaintiffs in the lawsuit, including the National Women's Law Center, wanted the EEOC to collect two years of data, just as the agency was supposed to before the government halted the collection in 2017.

Judge Tanya Chutkan of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia sided with the plaintiffs. She gave the EEOC the option of submitting 2017 pay data along with the 2018 information by the Sept. 30 deadline or submitting 2019 pay data during the 2020 reporting period. The EEOC has until May 3 to notify the court of its choice.

Either way, employers will need to submit 2018 pay data by Sept. 30.

Chutkan chastised the government for not taking any meaningful steps during the stay or litigation to prepare for collection.

The agency said it could make the collection portal available to employers by July 15 and would provide information and training to employers prior to that date, according to documents filed with the court.

Source: SHRM

What You Should Know about EEOC's Proposal to Collect Pay Data

The Updated Proposal

On July 14, 2016, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) published its revised proposal to collect summary pay data by race, ethnicity, and sex from employers that already file the EEO-1 report (https://federalregister.gov/a/2016-16692).

• The revised proposal carefully considers the utility of the data for enforcing the nondiscrimination laws and responds to public comments that the EEOC received in response to its initial proposal published in the Federal Register on February 1, 2016 as well as testimony from the March 16, 2016 public hearing.
• Under the revised proposal, employers with 100 or more employees that already file an EEO-1 report will provide summary pay data.
• The revised proposal continues to minimize the burden on employers while ensuring the pay data is useful for the EEOC and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) at the Department of Labor.
• The annual added cost to report the pay data, using the revised burden estimate, is approximately $416 per employer.
• Employers provide this data through an online system. Employers enter data only in those cells of the report where they have employees. The overwhelming majority of the cells are left blank.

When Would the EEOC Begin Collecting Pay Data from Employers?

In response to comments, employers would file the first new EEO-1 report, including pay data, by March 31, 2018.

• This gives employers 18 months to transition to the new system, rather than 12 months, as the EEOC originally proposed.
• March 31st provides employers time after they complete calendar-year tax forms, so they can report W-2 Box 1 numbers prepared for tax purposes. The EEOC would not require any special calculations, as the EEOC's original February 1, 2016 proposal did.
• The next EEO-1 report is due on September 30, 2016. There are no changes on this report. Employers will not be required to provide pay data this year. Then, employers do not have to file an EEO-1 report for 18 months, until March 31, 2018.

Why Collect Pay Data

Workers depend on the EEOC to advance opportunity and freedom from workplace discrimination. Although much progress has been made in the past 50 years, pay disparities continue to be a problem in the American workplace. Since the creation of the President's Equal Pay Task Force in 2010, the EEOC has investigated tens of thousands of charges of pay discrimination, and through enforcement efforts, the EEOC has obtained more than $85 million in monetary relief for those who have faced pay discrimination based on sex. Additionally, studies show that significant pay gaps exist in the U.S. workforce linked to sex, race, and ethnicity. Even when controlling for other factors, workplace discrimination is an important contributing factor to these pay gaps.

For Further Detail visit the EEOC's website