As we indicated in our June 4, 2026 article, certain employers may soon be relieved of the obligation to file EEO-1 Reports, as well as other reports (“EEO Data Reports”), with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”). On July 21, 2026, the EEOC voted 2-1 to issue a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to end the long-required demographic data collection and reporting by covered employers. Currently covered employers are required to file annual reports with the EEOC summarizing aggregate data on their employees’ race and sex to assist in evaluating potential discriminatory practices under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.
The EEOC’s NPRM is a 63-page proposal published in the Federal Register. In the NPRM, the EEOC determined that the EEO Data Reports are inconsistent with equal employment opportunity law, may raise constitutional concerns, and collect data that is not narrowly tailored or necessary to enforce anti-discrimination statutes. According to the EEOC, under Title VII, the agency is not required to impose these reporting obligations and may eliminate them when they are inconsistent with the law, not useful, or counter to enforcement priorities. The NPRM concludes that any limited value of the reports is outweighed by the significant burdens they impose on employers and on the EEOC — particularly because employers must submit them annually without any specific indication of a potential violation.
The NPRM will undergo a 30-day public comment period, after which the EEOC will review any feedback before voting on a final decision.
The EEOC’s press release, with a hyperlink to the NPRM, can be found here:
https://www.eeoc.gov/newsroom/eeoc-proposes-rescission-annual-race-and-sex-reporting-requirements