What is the EEO-1 Report?

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) requires nearly every company in the U.S. to submit their EEO-1 report every year. This report gives a statistical breakdown of a company’s employment by sex, race, ethnicity, and job category. It seeks to ensure that all employees receive fair and equal pay and benefits for their work, regardless of where they fit in these categories.

This requirement has been in place since 1966, just two years after the EEOC was first established in the Civil Rights Act. The goal of this law is straightforward, but it can be a little confusing when your company is trying to properly comply with its regulations.

Are You Required to File an EEO-1 Report?

Not all companies need to submit this report. There are a few things beyond company size that stipulate whether or not filing a report is necessary.

1. All private employers with 100 or more employees. This DOES NOT include: state and local governments, public primary and secondary school systems, institutions of higher education, American Indian or Alaska Native tribes, and tax-exempt private membership clubs (other than labor organizations).
2. All federal contractors with 50 or more employees. This also includes all prime contractors or first tier subcontractors who have a contract amounting to $50,000 or more.

Your company can also file an employer’s exemption from reporting requirements. This could happen if your company wants to claim that the preparation or filing of the report would cause undue hardship. Your company can also request a different filing deadline. Both of these things require a written proposal to the EEOC before the usual deadline.

We should just briefly mention that the EEO-1 report strictly relates to current employees. Regardless of company size, it’s illegal to discriminate against job applicants based on race, color, religion, gender, age, or disability.
 

Interested in learning more? Sign up for the SkillPath webinar, EEO-1 Report Compliance: What Employers Need to Know

Are Employers Allowed to Ask for Demographics?

The short answer is, yes. Employers are required to submit the demographic breakdown of their company every year, and so must ask everyone for this information. The longer answer is more nuanced than that, so here’s what the EEOC stipulates regarding how employers need to go about asking current and prospective employees their race, ethnicity, and gender.

• A statement must be provided that disclosing this information is optional. It's solely the employee’s discretion as to whether or not they want to provide the requested demographic information.
• Employees self-report their information. Demographic data is usually sought when the person submits a job application. Applicants and current employees should self-report their own information, rather than someone else reporting it based on what they think they observe about the other person.
• Demographic data is private and should be used for reporting purposes only. It's crucial that the information employee's provide remains confidential, as your company could face serious legal consequences if it's made public without their permission.

The EEOC has made changes to the reporting process in recent years, mostly relating to modernization, so it's important to monitor the EEO-1 reporting website to check for any other changes that might come about.

The deadline changes every year, and this year it’s tentatively scheduled to open in mid-July. This works the same as taxes; the 2023 report covers employee information for the 2022 calendar year. But much like a college exam, don’t wait until the deadline to have your company data assembled. Monitor and build employee demographic information throughout the year to make the submission process as easy as possible.