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EEO-1 Pay and Hours Data Requirement In Limbo

3/21/19

By: Brent Bean

Whether and when covered businesses have to comply with revised EEO-1 requirements for pay and hours worked data remains uncertain as the reporting period opens. Companies with 100 or more employees, along with federal contractors who employ 50 or more employees, are required to submit to the EEOC annual Employer Information Reports, so-called EEO-1 reports. These reports disclose information concerning the number of employees a company employs broken down by job category, race, sex, and ethnicity. In 2016 the EEOC requested approval from the Office of Management and Budget to begin collecting pay and hours worked data. The ostensible aim of these additions was to generate data from which the Commission could begin to identify pay disparities and potential discriminatory practices.
In August 2017 OMB announced a stay of these new collection requirements due to the burden imposed on businesses when weighed against the perceived utility of the data. In response, the National Women’s Law Center brought suit in the District Court for Washington, D.C., challenging the OMB’s basis for taking that action. On March 4 of this year, that court issued an opinion reinstating the pay and work hours reporting requirement, finding the OMB had acted arbitrarily and capriciously in eliminating the requirement. See National Women’s Law Center v. Office of Management and Budget, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 33828 (D.D.C. Mar. 4, 2019).
EEO-1 reports for 2018 however, are due between March 18 and May 31. Accordingly, this recent ruling and putative change in reporting requirements raise some significant concerns about the practical ability of employers to comply on such short notice. The EEOC’s portal for EEO-1 reports opened on Monday, March 18 without any reference to pay and hours worked data. The Commission stated that it is working diligently on complying with the court’s order and further information regarding pay and hours worked reporting would follow.
While it is expected that the OMB will appeal the District court’s ruling, it is not clear at all whether that appeal will cause a stay of the reporting requirement for pay and hours information for 2018.
So questions remain: will employers have to provide this information in their 2018 reports and if so, when?
At a status conference on March 19, the District Court Judge issued an order that the Commission must explain by April 3 how it will implement the March 4 Order reinstating the collection of pay data. As such, we can expect some additional information from the Commission by then, as well as perhaps a notice of appeal from OMB.
FMG will keep you updated on activity by the Commission and the Courts. But employers should prepare now with a thorough review of their pay structures in order to identify not only any disparities that may raise red flags and draw increased scrutiny, but also to understand what legitimate, non-discriminatory reasons exist for their present pay practices.
If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Brent Bean at bbean@fmglaw.com.