The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced on March 30 that the 2019 and 2020 EEO-1 Component 1 data collection will open on Monday, April 26, 2021. The EEOC has advised all EEO-1 filers to begin preparing to submit 2019 and 2020 data in anticipation of the April 26 opening. All private employers with 100 or more employees, as well as federal contractors with 50 or more employees, are expected to submit EEO-1 Component 1 data to the EEOC, indicating the composition of their workforces by sex and by race/ethnic category.

The deadline to submit 2019 and 2020 EEO-1 Component 1 data will be Monday, July 19, 2021, giving employers 12 weeks to file, instead of the usual 10 weeks. According to the EEOC, employers are being granted additional time in light of the difficulties in submitting two years of EEO-1 data and interruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The EEOC has previously said it will no longer be collecting Component 2 pay data, so the EEO-1 Component 1 data is all that is required for the 2021 submission (for 2019 and 2020).

The EEOC will begin to formally notify EEO-1 filers via email beginning on March 29, 2021. Once the collection period opens, the EEOC's Filer Support Team will be available to assist employers with inquiries regarding the EEO-1 Component 1 filing process. The EEOC also encourages employers to visit https://EEOCdata.org for more information on updates on the 2019 and 2020 EEO-1 Component 1 Data Collection.

Interestingly, the EEOC data collection webpage does not offer any guidance, yet, and the agency’s prior guidance has been removed. Employers should monitor the website for new guidance, and in the meantime should prepare their submissions.

In related reporting activity, federal contractors should also monitor the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Program’s (OFCCP’s) new “Affirmative Action Plan Verification Interface,” a secure web-based interface created to improve communication and the transfer of Affirmative Action Plan data. The launching of this webpage in March could signal that OFCCP is moving ahead with finalizing a proposed rule to require federal contractors to annually certify they have prepared AAPs via an online interface.

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