On April 26, 2021, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) officially opened employment data collection (EEO-1 Component 1) for years 2019 and 2020. This Report captures certain demographic data of eligible employers and their workforces including sex, race/ethnicity, and job category. Employers will recall that the EEOC also collected pay and hours data (Component 2) for years 2017 and 2018 in the past. However, there is no Component 2 collection or filing requirement for 2019 and 2020, which reduces the employer burden from the two previous filing years. The EEOC has stated that it may revisit a less burdensome pay reporting requirement in the future, but there is nothing definite at this time.
After repeated COVID-19 related delays, both Reports now have a FINAL submission deadline of October 25, 2021 (extended from the previous deadlines of August 23 and July 19).
Who needs to file?
Employers subject to the EEO-1 Component 1 Data Reporting include private employers subject to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with 100 or more employees including non-profits and not for profit organizations, among others. Full-time and part-time employees are includable in the Report.
Employers who are first-time filers:
Employers must register on the EEOC EEO-1 website to receive a Company ID and passcode which will be used to access the EEO-1 portal and file the reports electronically.
Employers who have filed in the past:
Eligible employers should have received a EEO-1 Notification Letter containing their Company ID and passcode for the 2019 and 2020 reporting years. These letters were sent in mid-April by the EEOC. Employers that did not receive a letter (U.S. Mail) should contact the EEOC’s Filer Support Team at FilerSupport@eeocdata.org for assistance. Employers that have received the Notification Letter, may now create user accounts using the Company ID and passcode provided in the Notification Letter. Employers will need these credentials to access the online portal to submit their EEO-1 DATA.
How to file:
Employers can file their EEO1-CO 1 Reports by (1) completing a secure data entry form via the EEO-1 Component 1 Online Filing System which went live on April 26, 2021, or (2) by data file upload which became available May 26. The process and instructions for the data file upload were also released May 26 and can be accessed here >
Checkwriters clients are able to run this report within the Checkwriters platform, and we have posted an instructional video on the Dashboard.
Additional information
Please review the EEO1- Component 1 Job Classification Guide for additional information on how to classify employees regarding job category, and the 2019-2020 EEO-1 Component 1 Instruction Booklet which includes provisions for assigning employees into the race/ethnicities categories.
- For any employees who have failed to designate race/ethnicity or have declined to answer, employers must take certain steps in order to gather this information. Per the EEOC, employers must attempt to allow employees to use self-identification. In gathering this data, the EEOC advises that employers emphasize to their workforces that such elections and or disclosures are voluntary.
- To facilitate data collection, the EEOC has provided sample language which employers may distribute to their employees:
- [Insert Employer Name] is subject to certain governmental recordkeeping and reporting requirements for the administration of civil rights laws and regulations. In order to comply with these laws, [Employer name] invites employees to voluntarily self-identify their race or ethnicity. Submission of this information is voluntary and refusal to provide it will not subject you to any adverse treatment. The information obtained will be kept confidential and may only be used in accordance with the provisions of applicable laws, executive orders, and regulations, including those that require the information to be summarized and reported to the federal government for civil rights enforcement. When reported, data will not identify any specific individual.”
- If an employee declines to self-identify, then employer records and/or employer observation may be used.
Disclaimer: The information contained herein is not intended to be construed as legal advice, nor should it be relied on as such. Employers should closely monitor the rules and regulations specific to their jurisdiction(s) and should seek advice from counsel relative to their rights and responsibilities.