The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission will collect pay data from both the 2018 and 2017 calendar years. Are you prepared?

The contentious issue of what exactly needs to be filed for EEO-1 reporting for 2019 has been resolved for the time being. Employee pay data for both 2017 and 2018 must be reported to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) by September 30, 2019.

The data that has been required in previous years is still due by May 31, 2019.

However, an appeal of the latest court decision on this issue has been filed, so there is the possibility of yet another change to the requirements, but for now, employers should plan to comply with these deadlines.

On May 3, 2019, acting EEOC Chair Victoria A. Lipnic announced in the Federal Register the the EEOC will begin collecting Component 2 data in mid-July and will notify filers of the survey's opening once that is available.

According to a statement from Lipnic provided to HRDive,

"We, at the EEOC, understand the difficulties of these first-ever pay data collections in this timeframe. But, we are committed to meeting the court's order, working with employers, and making this happen by the end of September."

The EEO-1 Report Form

The EEO-1 Form is a report that must be filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), as mandated by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1967, and amended by the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972.

The Act requires that employers report on the racial/ethnic and gender composition of their workforce by specific job categories.

According to The National Law Review,

“The EEOC’s focus on collecting employee pay data is to ensure pay equality – equal pay for equal work. While the purpose of collecting employee pay data from employers is to allow the EEOC to better assess allegations of pay discrimination, providing pay data in broad categories without context may create the appearance of pay disparities where none exist. Employers, therefore, should audit employee titles, job duties, and responsibilities to ensure employees are properly classified within each EEO-1 job category.”

Surveys must include employment data from any pay period from October through December and must be filed by March 31st of the following year.

The National Law Review article goes on to note that a 2017 moratorium on collecting employee pay data was lifted recently by a court order and now requires the EEOC to collect employee pay data by the end of September.

In addition, the EEOC has not defined clearly how either 50 or 100 employees are to be counted. Because of this, any employers that have reached that threshold at some point during the year, especially during the fourth quarter of the year, may want to either file or seek legal guidance to determine any compliance requirements that may need to be met.

The EEO-1 Report is a compliance survey mandated by federal statute and regulations. The survey requires company employment data to be categorized by race/ethnicity, gender and job category. A sample copy of the EEO-1 form and instructions are available here.

Who Needs to File the EEO-1 Report?

All employers located in the 50 states and the District of Columbia and have at least 100 employees or are federal government contractors are required to file an EEO-1 Report survey, also known as the Standard Form 100 (EEO-1), with the EEOC each year.

However, currently if you have fewer than 100 employees and no federal contracts, you are not subject to EEO-1 reporting requirements, although this could change in the foreseeable future.

The two categories of employers that are required to submit EEO-1 Report data are:

• Organizations with 100 or more employees (excluding public primary and secondary schools, institutions of higher education, tribes, and tax-exempt private membership organizations);
• Federal contractors with 50 or more employees, that also are prime or first-tier subcontractors with a contract worth $50,000 or more; or are a depository for US government funds in any amount; or are an issuing and paying agent for US Savings Bonds and Savings Notes.

The EEOC has created two categories of the information it requires, which are referred to as components.

Component 1 Data

This is the same information that was previously required, including employee data by job category, race, ethnicity, and sex. Component 1 data for calendar year 2018 is due by May 31, 2019. The online survey application is open and available here. 

Component 2 Data

This is the newly required information. In addition to race, ethnicity, and sex, it includes data about W-2 wages and total hours worked. For 2019, employers must report Component 2 data for calendar years 2017 and 2018. This data is due by September 30, 2019. The online filing portal is not open yet, but is expected to be available mid-July, 2019.

For both types of data, the preferred method of reporting is through the EEO-1 Survey Application, which generates a table for employers to provide the required information. Employers do not need to worry about creating and formatting a complicated report.

Failure to file the EEO-1 Report by the Deadline

Failing to file a required EEO-1 report can lead to a lawsuit compelling you to report. In addition, government contractors that fail to file a report could be subject to debarment from their contracts. Under EEOC regulations and federal law, the penalty for making a willfully false statement on an EEO-1 Report is a fine, imprisonment of up to five years, or possibly both. 

The EEOC has provided answers to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on their website and they have also created an Instruction Booklet. The EEOC's "How to File an EEO-1 Report" provides detailed information and filing instructions.

The reporting system is entirely online on the EEOC website along with instructions and FAQs.  

Supporting Your HR Management Best Practices

Accurate and timely management and compliance practices are required for HR professionals in every business. Maintaining this can be challenging, but there are options.

Accuchex is a reputable workforce management services provider and can not only assist you with the burden of your ongoing compliance demands, but can potentially prove to be a more cost-effective solution, as well.

Click the button below to learn what how we can help you establish and maintain your HR management best practices. For more immediate information, feel free to call Accuchex Payroll Management Services at 877-422-2824.