The EEOC’s efforts to eliminate the 60-year-old EEO-1 reporting requirement reached another milestone last week with a public hearing that saw a majority of speakers argue against the proposal. In this compliance alert, Affirmity Vice President of Sales, Kim Hendon, reports on the main talking points from the hearing and discusses why employers need to focus on workforce data readiness regardless of the EEOC’s next steps.
Summary
On Tuesday, August 11, the EEOC held a public hearing at its headquarters in Washington, D.C. regarding its proposal to discontinue EEO Reporting (including EEO-1 through EEO-6) and the related recordkeeping and record preservation requirements. This hearing is part of an ongoing 30-day public commentary period which ends on August 24.
The period was triggered by a July 21, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking suggesting the elimination, claiming “EEO Data Reports are inconsistent with equal employment opportunity law, may raise constitutional concerns, and that data collected isn’t narrowly tailored or necessary to enforce anti-discrimination statutes.”
The two-hour-long hearing saw contributions from 22 speakers, with the majority opposing the proposal. Civil rights groups defended the EEO reporting data on the basis that it has been a crucial tool for uncovering systemic discrimination in the workplace and tracking the progress of women and minorities.
The Associated Press quoted Amaelea Smirniotopoulos of the Legal Defense Fund: “These changes will harm all workers, but particularly Black workers and other workers of color who continue to face racial discrimination more frequently.” Additionally, Rachel Lee of Stand with Asian Americans said the data “has been critical for demonstrating that many Asian Americans rarely reach the highest ranks of many companies”
Researchers also defended the reports, with Donald Tomasjovic-Devey of the University of Massachusetts Amherst’s Center for Employment Equity saying he had relied on EEO-1 data for dozens of research articles and two books, claiming “our society will be flying blind into the future” without EEO-1 metrics.
Six speakers did, however, speak in favor of the proposal. Rachel Morrison of the Ethics and Public Policy Center was typical of this perspective, stating “It is inconsistent with equal opportunity law, potentially unconstitutional, unnecessary to enforce anti-discrimination laws, and imposes substantial burdens on both employers and the EEOC that are not outweighed by its marginal benefits.”
Nonetheless, employer groups refuted the claim that EEO-1 data has been misused, with David Fortney of the Institute for Workplace Equality remarking, “Presumably after six decades, if the agency had specific instances, it would have called those out”
Who Is Impacted and What Actions Are Required?
Employers should continue business-as-usual operations with regard to EEO-1 filing: this remains a proposal, and we are still awaiting a final rule once the public commentary period expires on August 24. The proposal has received over 1,500 comments, and comments can be added via the federalregister.gov website.
In order to observe EEO-1 filing obligations, organizations must:
- Continue to collect and prepare demographic data for the 2026 EEO-1 filing cycle
- Maintain records per Title VII, as these recordkeeping provisions remain separate and ongoing
- Observe developments with state and local requirements separately. A number of state laws reference federal EEO-1 submissions and categories in their requirements.
From here, the EEOC may well treat the public comment period as a formality, ignore objections, and sunset EEO reporting. We would argue that regardless of any final rule on the subject, these data collection and analysis processes remain essential. The EEOC will retain the ability to request records during investigations, to issue subpoenas, or use any other enforcement procedures available to it. If you decide to end your EEO-1-related recordkeeping practices, you will not have a critical body of evidence available to you.
Going forward, we encourage employers to focus on ‘workforce data readiness’: this activity is no longer about filing a report, it’s about understanding, monitoring, and defending workforce decisions without relying on federal reporting.
How Affirmity Can Help
Whatever the future holds, Affirmity is here to help you maintain workforce data readiness. We offer:
- Workforce Representation and Decision Analytics: Identify disparity patterns and areas of risk across your full employment lifecycle
- EEO-1 and VETS-4212 reporting software: Comply with key laws protecting veterans and other protected groups
- Pay Equity Analysis: Study and address compensation gaps across gender, race, and other protected classes.
- State/local Jurisdiction Reporting: Stay compliant with evolving state and local reporting obligations wherever you do business
Protect your organization from shifting agency priorities: Contact our team of experts today.
About the Author
Kim Hendon oversees account management and sales for Affirmity. She is responsible for building successful, long-term partnerships with clients and generating new business. Having served with the company for more than 25 years, Ms. Hendon has in-depth knowledge and broad experience in all areas of workforce analytics and HR compliance.
Ms. Hendon assists clients with the planning and development of workforce compliance and non-discrimination programs, as well as employee engagement initiatives. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Speech Communication and a Master’s in Business Administration. Connect with her on LinkedIn.