Steve T Ball is a Partner in Holland & Knight's Orlando office

HIGHLIGHTS:

  • Following a recent federal court decision, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's EEO-1 pay data reporting requirements have been reinstated.
  • It is not clear whether the May 31 EEO-1 reporting deadline will be extended for 2019.
  • Prudent employers will begin collecting required pay data to meet the May 31 deadline in case it is not extended for this year.

During the Obama Administration, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) enacted pay data reporting requirements with its EEO-1 forms. This caused great consternation among affected employers. The Trump Administration provided relief when it suspended the EEO-1 pay data reporting requirements. But a recent federal district court decision in National Women's Law Center v. Office of Management and Budget (Civil Action No. 17-cv-2458, DDC) reinstated the pay data reporting requirements. The same court ordered the EEOC and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to advise employers by April 3, 2019, as to whether or not pay information will be required on the 2019 EEO-1 reports.

If the EEO-1 pay data requirements proceed, employers with at least 100 employees, and federal contractors with at least 50 employees and a contract of $50,000 or more with the federal government, will need to provide pay information on employees by race, ethnicity and sex when preparing their EEO-1 reports.

EEO-1 forms ordinarily are due every year on May 31. But it is unclear whether the EEOC is prepared to handle this pay information by the EEO-1 annual form filing deadline of May 31, 2019. Thus, the EEOC may to decide to postpone this year's due date for the EEO-1 forms. Further, OMB or the EEOC may elect to appeal the court's decision reinstating the pay data reporting obligation. If the district court's ruling is stayed pending appeal, the implementation of the pay data reporting process likely will be further delayed.

Although a delay in the pay data reporting requirements is possible, employers should begin gathering the required pay data on the assumption that stay will be granted or that the EEOC will postpone the annual deadline. Rather, prudent employers will be prepared to have the pay data information by race, ethnicity and sex ready to report by the current May 31 due date.

Holland & Knight will continue to update this situation as circumstances dictate.

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