EEO-1 reporting drama continues with 2017 pay data now required

If you are looking for a little more EEO-1 drama, look no further. In response to a federal district court order, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced on April 4, 2019, that covered employers will have until Sept. 30, 2019, to report 2018 pay data under the EEO-1 Component 2 reporting requirements. 

Then, responding to the court’s mandate that the EEOC collect two years of pay data, the EEOC announced in early May 2019 that the EEO-1 Component 2 filing must include pay data for both calendar years 2017 and 2018. EEOC has indicated that it expects to open the online portal for submission of the Component 2 data in mid-July 2019. 

Required Pay Data

Looking at a snapshot of the workforce for the applicable period, the EEO-1 Component 2 will require employers to report annual compensation data (W-2 Box 1 information) broken out by 10 job categories, 12 salary bands, and race, gender, and ethnicity. 

Component 2 will also require employers to report the aggregate of annual hours worked by job categories, salary bands, and race, gender, and ethnicity. For non-exempt employees, this will require reporting of actual hours worked. For exempt employees, an employer may use a proxy of 40 hours per week for full-time employees and 20 hours per week for part-time employees multiplied by weeks worked. 

Is the Pay Data Reporting Requirement Likely to Change?

The EEO-1 reporting requirements have been like a roller coaster for employers in 2019 and the ride may not be over yet. The Department of Justice has appealed the underlying court decision that reinstated the Component 2 data reporting requirement. Although the appeal does not stay the district court’s order, it is possible that the reporting could be either delayed or stayed due to the pending appeal or for other reasons. 

One of those other reasons could be the recent confirmation of Janet Dhillon as the new Chair of the EEOC. After a wait of nearly two years, the U.S. Senate confirmed Dhillon on May 8, 2019 - finally giving the EEOC a quorum. Dhillon, like former acting EEOC Chair Victoria Lipnic (who remains on the commission), has expressed skepticism about the benefits of collecting pay data.

Where do thing stand now? 

For now, employers need to prepare for the following: 

• Submit EEO-1 Component 1 data on employee race, ethnicity, and gender to the EEOC by May 31, 2019.
• Submit EEO-1 Component 2 data on compensation and hours by job categories, salary bands, and race, gender, and ethnicity for 2017 and 2018 to the EEOC by September 30, 2019. 

In this year of EEO-1 drama, it’s certainly possible that things could change. So, stay tuned and McDonald Hopkins’ Labor and Employment Group will keep you updated.