Although it has been more than a month since a federal district court judge ordered the reinstatement of a controversial EEO-1 pay data reporting rule, it is still unclear when employers will need to comply. Employers subject to EEO-1 reporting requirements—including employers with 100 or more employees and employers with 50 or more employees and a federal contract or subcontracting amounting to at least $50,000—should stay tuned for updates on this matter as they may be required to quickly prepare pay data to submit to the EEOC this year.
As we previously reported, after the judge ordered the immediate reinstatement of the rule in early March, she ordered the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) to file a brief explaining how it will implement her order. The EEOC’s brief asserted administrative authority to set a September 30, 2019 deadline for employers to submit EEO-1 pay data. Employee advocacy groups, however, have demanded an earlier date for submissions by May 31, 2019. Employer groups such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce filed an amicus brief asking for at least eighteen months to gather and submit the required pay data. At this point, it is unclear whether the judge will defer to the EEOC’s September 30 date, or require something else. There is also the possibility that a party could file an appeal, or that administrative action could modify requirements or timing of the rule.
As a reminder, employers are still required to submit their normal EEO-1 reports (not including compensation data) to the EEOC by May 31, 2019.