The EEOC has announced a stay in the much-anticipated pay data reporting that was to be part of the new EEO-1 Report due by March 31, 2018 (previous reporting due by September 30 each year). See WilmerHale's August 24, 2017 client alert.

Yesterday, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) informed Acting EEOC Chair Victoria Lipnic that it was declaring an “immediate stay on the effectiveness of the pay data collection aspects of the newly revised EEO-1 form” and commencing a review of the new pay data collection requirement under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). OMB has also stated that employers will still be required to report using the new workforce snapshot period for 2017 (any payroll period of the employer's choice between October 1 and December 31, 2017), however, when reporting for 2017, employers should use the previously approved EEO-1 form which only requires headcounts by race/ethnicity and gender by EEO-1 job category.

This is great news for companies that file the EEO-1. As noted previously, the pay data reporting would have added a significant burden to the data collection and reporting activities, without—as many believe—generating meaningful pay equity data.