On May 8, 2020, the EEOC announced, in a notice that can be found
here, that in light of the COVID-19 public health emergency, it is delaying its anticipated opening of the 2019 EEO-1 Component 1 and the 2020 EEO-3 and EEO-5 Data Collections to 2021. As we have previously discussed in our memorandum
here, EEO-1 Component 1 data consists of information on employee populations in certain defined bands of positions grouped by race, gender and ethnicity, and is required of employers with 100 or more employees. (The EEO-3 form gathers labor force demographic information on local unions with 100 or more employees, and the EEO-5 form gathers labor force demographic information on public elementary or secondary school systems and districts with 15 or more employees.)
The EEOC stated that it expects to begin collecting EEO-1 Component 1 data for 2019 and 2020 in March 2021, and it expects to begin collecting the 2020 EEO-3 and EEO-5 data in January 2021. The EEOC added that these collections require the approval of the Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”), and the EEOC “will notify filers of the precise date the surveys will open as soon as possible.” In a public announcement, which can be found
here, the agency said that the delay is to accommodate “unique and urgent issues” facing employers and that delaying the collections “will ensure that EEO filers are better positioned to provide accurate, valid and reliable data in a timely manner.” The EEOC had not previously announced the deadline to submit 2019 EEO-1 Component 1 data because the collection of Component 1 data for the years 2019, 2020 and 2021 is currently awaiting authorization from the OMB. The EEOC had also not yet announced a deadline for 2020 EEO-3 and EEO-5 reports. As we have previously discussed
here, the EEOC announced on March 23, 2020 that it would not seek approval to collect EEO-1 Component 2 pay data for the calendar years 2019, 2020 or 2021.