Remember the EEO-1 reporting reprieve you enjoyed in September 2017? Break's over! 

Your 2017 EEO-1 data must be submitted and certified no later than March 31, 2018. As you recall, last August the Office of Management and Budget indefinitely stayed the EEOC’s plan to collect compensation data. However, the agency will continue to collect information on race, sex, and ethnicity of employees by job category. In other words, although the deadline has changed, employers must submit the same information they have provided in the past.

The following comes from the EEO-1 Survey web pages of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (with some editing for brevity and readability):

I have heard of this EEO-1 Report, but do I really need to file one?

Filing the EEO-1 survey report is not voluntary and is required by federal law for covered employers. All federal contractors with 50 or more employees and at least $50,000 in federal contracts per year must file a report. Additionally, all employers (regardless of federal contractor status) with more than 100 employees must file an EEO-1 Report.

So, now that I know I need to file a Report, what data do I use?

An employer may use a “snapshot” of its employees for any payroll period in the last quarter of calendar year 2017 (October, November, or December). The race, ethnicity, gender, and EEO-1 job category of all employees from that payroll period must be reported.

Who gets this data, and how do I submit it?

The EEO-1 Report will continue to be filed with the Joint Reporting Committee, which is made up of the EEOC and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs. As in recent years, the EEO-1 Report must be filed electronically through the EEO-1 Online Filing System. This system is found on the EEOC’s website.

There’s a lot going on at the beginning of the calendar year. Will there be any reminders?

Look here for an updated blog post when the portal opens.  Additionally, near the end of January or beginning of February, all employers who filed a 2016 report will receive their annual Notification Letter alerting them to the fact that the filing period is open and providing additional filing instructions. Moreover, the filing website will alert employers that the filing period has commenced. NOTE: Your 2016 password will NOT work for the 2017 filing year. Your new password should be included with your annual Notification Letter.

If you do not receive your annual Notification Letter, you can still go to the site and click on “get password” to obtain your 2017 password and then proceed with filing.

My company has never filed an EEO-1 Report before. What do I do?

First, you must register your company online. Use the “click here to register” link once the link has been activated in 2018. Then follow the instructions. Once you submit the registration form, save the information regarding your company number and password. Maintain this information securely, as you will need the company number every year you file. 

The contact person at my company for filing the EEO-1 Report has changed. What do I do?

Submit a letter on company letterhead signed by an authorized company representative indicating the new contact’s name, title, phone number, and email address to the Joint Reporting Committee at e1.techassistance@eeoc.gov or fax it to 1-877-392-4647. If you have your company number, you should include it. Do not wait to do this; it is best to send this update as soon as possible to avoid any potential delay in filing.

My company experienced a merger or acquisition during the current reporting period. Does that matter?

Yes. Send an email to e1.acquisitionmergers@eeoc.gov. 

FOR MERGERS:  Include the names and company numbers (if known) of all companies affected by the merger, the name and address of the corporate headquarters, and the name of the new company.  

FOR ACQUISITIONS:  Include the names, addresses, company numbers (if known) of both companies. If a company acquired a small company that otherwise did not file an EEO-1 in the past, the acquiring company may proceed with adding the establishment and filing for the new employees.

We have multiple locations. Can I file just one single report?

No. All multi-establishment employers must file the following:

• A report covering the principal or HQ office (“HQ Report”)
• A separate report for each facility employing 50 or more employees (“Establishment Reports”)
• A consolidated report that must include ALL employees by race, sex, and job category in establishments with 50 or more employees AND establishments with less than 50 employees (“Consolidated Report”) AND
• A list showing the name, address, and total number of employees for each establishment with fewer than 50 employees (“List of Establishments Report”).

Do NOT include any establishments outside the United States or the District of Columbia.  No reports should be filed for establishments in Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, or other American Protectorates.

NOTE: Remember, all full-time and part-time employees are included on the reports.

If I don’t have to file until the end of March, do I need to do anything now?

Yes. If you haven’t registered your company for filing, do so sooner rather than later (as soon as the “click here to register” link is live). If you have lost/forgotten your company number, contact the Joint Reporting Committee, and they will look it up and email it to you:

EEO-1 Joint Reporting Committee
P.O. Box 3128
Reston, VA 20195
Telephone: 877-392-4647
Fax: 866-262-0032
Email: e1.lostloginpassword@eeoc.gov

Do NOT register again. 

If you don’t have the necessary race, gender, and ethnicity information for your employees, now is a good time to reissue voluntary self-identification forms and update any missing demographic information for employees. Submitting “unknown” race or gender is not an option on the EEO-1 Report. 

Also, because the information you are submitting is from 2017, you may now begin pulling and preparing the data for submission.