Ever since the election, large employers and federal contractors across the country have been holding their breath, wondering if the Trump administration would take steps to revoke a new requirement that such employers provide pay data in their EEO-1 reports. Those companies can breathe easier now, as the Office of Management and Budget ("OMB") has hit "pause" on that requirement while it conducts a full review of the burdens and benefits of the data collection.
Under a rule issued in September 2016, all businesses with 100 or more employees and all prime and first-tier federal contractors with at least 50 employees were going to be required to submit data about employees' pay and hours worked by gender, race, and ethnicity on the next EEO-1 report, due March 31, 2018. The business community was strenuously opposed to this rule, as it believed that the data collection would be extremely burdensome and be of little practical value to agencies seeking to determine whether pay discrimination is occurring. The OMB listened to those concerns and has postponed the new requirements indefinitely.
So, what does this mean for you? If your company is required to submit EEO-1 reports (either because you have at least 100 employees or you are a prime or first-tier federal contractor with at least 50 employees), it's business as usual – almost. In the past, such employers were required to submit their EEO-1 reports by September 30 each year. However, in order to give employers time to comply with the new rule, that deadline was extended to March 31, 2018. While the pay data requirement was postponed, the deadline for EEO-1 reports will remain March 31, 2018. So you do not need to file an EEO-1 report this September. Rather, you will file an EEO-1 report covering all of calendar year 2017 by March 31, 2018. And that EEO-1 report will just include the same gender and race/ethnicity data by EEO-1 category that you have always provided.
But don't forget! The September 31, 2017 deadline has not changed for federal contractors who are required to file VETS 4212 reports.
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