Tag: EEO-1

2019 2020 EEO-1 Component 1 Report

2019 and 2020 EEO-1 Component 1 Reports Due

On April 26, 2021, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission launched its annual EEO-1 data collection process. The COVID-19 pandemic delayed EEO-1 filing last year. As a result, covered employers now must file both their 2019 and 2020 EEO-1 Component 1 Reports by July 19, 2021.

What Is the EEO-1 Component 1 Report?

U.S. employers with at least 100 employees and some smaller companies with federal government contracts must file demographic data each year. The EEO-1 Component 1 Report identifies the number of employees by job categories and demographic characteristics.

The EEO-1 job categories are:

  • Executive/Senior Level Officials and Managers
  • First/Mid-Level Officials and Managers
  • Professionals
  • Technicians
  • Sales Workers
  • Administrative Support Workers
  • Craft Workers
  • Operatives
  • Laborers and Helpers
  • Service Workers

Within these job categories, employers must provide the number of employees based on sex and race/ethnicity from among these options:

  • Hispanic or Latino
  • White
  • Black or African American
  • Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander
  • Asian
  • Native American or Alaska Native
  • Two or more races

EEO-1 Component 2 Pay Data Collection

In February 2016, the EEOC modified the Form EEO-1 to include wage and hours data beginning March 31, 2018. Following litigation, the EEOC retroactively collected this “Component 2” data for the years 2017 and 2018. The EEOC anticipates completing an analysis of that data by the end of 2021. It remains to be seen whether, or at least when and how, the EEOC will pursue collection of compensation data again in the future.

Filing FAQs

The unusual year resulting from the coronavirus pandemic has raised some new concerns among EEO-1 filers.

How do we account for employees working at home?

Remote workers must be included on the EEO-1 Component 1 Report for the business location to which they report. The employees’ home address should not be reported as a company location.

What if we only qualified for either 2019 or 2020 filing?

Employers should only file for the year(s) in which they had enough employees and otherwise qualified. According to the EEOC, companies who need to file both 2019 and 2020 EEO-1 Component 1 Reports must file the 2019 report first and then the 2020 report.

Companies that merged, spun off, or dissolved during the timeframe might need to file as separate entities for the two years.

 

Click here to go to the EEOC’s Data Collection portal.

 

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EEO-1 Compensation Data

EEO-1 Compensation Data Update

In April 2019, a federal judge ruled that all employers required to file the annual EEO-1 report must include 2018 compensation data by September 30, 2019. The court ruling left some open questions for employers regarding the EEO-1 compensation data requirements. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has answered some of those questions, as we’ll explain here.

What Is the EEO-1?

U.S. employers with at least 100 employees and some smaller companies with federal government contracts must file the EEO-1 each year. The annual reports identify numbers of employees by job categories and demographic characteristics.

The EEO-1 job categories are:

  • Executive/Senior Level Officials and Managers
  • First/Mid-Level Officials and Managers
  • Professionals
  • Technicians
  • Sales Workers
  • Administrative Support Workers
  • Craft Workers
  • Operatives
  • Laborers and Helpers
  • Service Workers

Within these job categories, employers must provide the number of employees based on sex and race/ethnicity from among these options:

  • Hispanic or Latino
  • White
  • Black or African American
  • Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander
  • Asian
  • Native American or Alaska Native
  • Two or more races

EEO-1 Compensation Data Requirement

In February 2016, the EEOC modified the Form EEO-1 to include wage and hours data beginning March 31, 2018. In 2017, however, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) informed the EEOC that it was suspending the new pay data collection requirements pending further review. This prompted litigation.

The plaintiffs in a lawsuit against the government prevailed. The judge is requiring the EEOC to collect the new EEO-1 compensation data from covered employers for at least two years. One of these years is 2018. The judge allowed the EEOC to decide whether the second year would be 2017 or 2019. The EEOC has selected 2017 as the second year.

For now, it’s not clear whether the EEO-1 compensation data requirement will continue beyond this year. It is possible that the EEOC will formally revise the forms going forward.

What Do Employers Need to Know?

1. What Is the Deadline for the 2018 EEO-1?

The filing period for the traditional EEO-1 survey (without the compensation data) ends May 31, 2019. Covered employers must submit the standard job category and demographic surveys by that date.

However, companies will have to submit separate new reports with the EEO-1 compensation data.

[Click here to file your EEO-1 or get more information directly from the EEOC.]

2. When Can We File the EEO-1 Compensation Data?

The EEOC expects to open filing for the new EEO-1 compensation data in mid-July 2019. When available, filers apparently will need to submit wage and hour information for both 2018 and 2017.

3. What Compensation Statistics Will We Need?

Employers will need to submit W-2 wage data and hours worked for employees within 12 specified pay bands:

  • <$19,239
  • $19,240-$24,439
  • $24,240-$30,679
  • $30,680-$38,999
  • $39,000-$49,919
  • $49,920-$62,919
  • $62,920-$80,079
  • $80,080-$101,919
  • $101,920-$128,959
  • $128,960-$163,799
  • $163,800-$207,999
  • $208,000+

Employers will report wages earned based on W-2 “Box 1” year-end earnings and hours worked.

Hours worked will be actual hours for non-exempt employees. For exempt employees, employers can report an estimate if they do not maintain actual time records. The estimate will be computed at 40 hours per week for full-time exempt employees and 20 hours per week for part-timers. Employers will report aggregate hours for all employees in each pay band and job category by ethnicity.

Employer Concerns

One concern many employers have is how much hassle it will be to satisfy this new filing requirement. That answer depends on factors like the size of the workforce and sophistication of the payroll system. Some companies will be able to generate the data quickly from computers. Others will have to analyze individual employee records to compile the necessary EEO-1 compensation data.

Another question is how the EEOC will use this new information. For various reasons, the limited aggregated payroll data might not give an accurate snapshot. Yet, the EEOC may use the numbers to evaluate potential discrepancies along gender, racial, or ethnic lines. Although the EEOC probably will not make every employer’s EEO-1 compensation data public, the reports could come out in litigation. This may include use by private plaintiffs whose attorneys could obtain the data from the EEOC by subpoena, for example.

Don’t Wait for July!

Employers who will have to file the new EEO compensation data should not wait until July to prepare. Companies should at least evaluate their ability to generate the information necessary when the filing period opens. Plus, employers should start analyzing whether the data is going to paint a picture that might cast their compensation practices in a bad light. If so, they might want to review and modify their practices or start preparing the explanation for why the EEO-1 report is misleading, as many will be given many statistical limitations in the way employers must report on wages.

 

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Spring 2019 Employment Law Update

Spring 2019 Employment Law Update (Webinar Recap)

On April 18, 2019, I presented a complimentary webinar called “Spring 2019 Employment Law Update.” For those who couldn’t attend the live webinar, I’m happy to make it available for you to watch at your convenience.

In the webinar, I discuss:

  • EEO-1 Filing Status
  • Proposed FLSA Regulations
  • NY GENDA & Voting Leave
  • Other New York State & Local Laws

This is a broad update for all employers with employees in New York State. It addresses some things that have already changed, some pending regulatory proposals, and other possible future legal developments. One or more of the issues discussed would likely affect every employer in New York State. Some organizations may have to deal with every issue I covered in this webinar.

Don’t have time to watch the whole webinar right now? Click here to download the slides from the webinar.

Why You Should Watch “Spring 2019 Employment Law Update”

There is something for every New York organization in this webinar. Whether you are a small business, large corporation, non-profit organization, or governmental entity, one or more of these developments will affect your employees. Be prepared for upcoming changes and review new laws that are already in place.

Here are just a few of the takeaways from this legal update webinar:

  • Employers with 100+ employees will probably have to report pay data on this year’s EEO-1 reports.
  • FLSA salary level for exemptions will likely go up later this year.
  • Many more New York employees are now eligible for paid leave from work to vote in public elections.
  • Paid sick leave and bans on inquiring about applicant salary history could be coming to your workplace.

These are just a few of the details we addressed in much more detail in this one-hour webinar. Watching the recording at your earliest convenience should pay dividends to your organization.

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