Summary at a Glance
- EEOC has proposed to rescind EEO reports, including EEO-1
- There are several procedural steps that must occur before this change can be finalized and there is no timeline for when that will be completed
- Employers should refrain from making any changes until a final rule is issued; anticipate that EEO-1 reporting may still be required and that other state and federal reporting will continue as usual
On May 14, 2026, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) submitted to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) a proposed rule titled Rescission of EEO-1, EEO-2, EEO-3, EEO-4, EEO-5, And Reporting Requirement Under Title VII, the ADA, GINA, and the PWFA. The content of this proposed rule will not be made public until OIRA has approved it.
What has occurred
There have been deviations from the EEO norm so far in 2026: The EEO-1 filing system, which is usually available to employers year-round for accessing historical reports, has displayed a “Not Found” message for the past several months, possibly indicating a change to the reporting process. EEOC has delayed announcing this year’s EEO-1 and EEO-4 filing deadlines. In response to multiple Freedom of Information Act requests, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance programs posted Federal contractors’ EEO-1 data for 2016-2020 publicly, rather than providing it only to the requestors.
The May 14th proposal from EEOC now clearly signals the Commission’s intent to dismantle a reporting obligation that began for employers nearly 60 years ago, with the first EEO-1 reports filed in 1966. Over the past six decades employers, HRIS vendors, contracting and enforcement agencies, States, labor statisticians, and others have built processes around and come to rely on the workforce data gathered in the EEO-1, particularly race, ethnicity, and gender by job level, geography, and industry. EEO-1 reports are filed by private sector employers with 100 or more employees. Through last year, leading into the rescission of EO 11246, Federal contractors with 50 or more employees were also required to file EEO-1 reports.
EEO-1 reports have a broad impact on public sector employers, while other EEO reports focus on certain employee or industry types: Local Union Report (EEO-3), State and Local Government Report (EEO-4), and Elementary-Secondary Staff Report (EEO-5). Each is required by 29 CFR Part 1602.
EEOC’s current proposal is in the very early stages of being a regulatory and reporting change. It will need to be approved by OIRA prior to being published for public comment. A comment period will then occur, and submissions will need to be reviewed, addressed, and summarized prior to the publication of a final rule. With states like California and Massachusetts relying on EEO-1 information for their pay data reporting, opposition from civil rights organizations when the EEO-1 Component 2 report was delayed in 2017 and 2018, and lawsuits challenging President Trump’s DEI-related Executive Orders, it is also likely that legal challenges will follow any final rule that seeks to rescind these data collections.
What employers should do
The regulatory change process and legal challenges could mean that a final resolution to this proposal is months or years in the future. Employers are urged to continue business as usual until a final rule is reached. What does ‘business as usual’ mean?
- Keep offering voluntary self-identification forms for race, gender, and ethnicity to all employees at time of hire.
- Ensure jobs are properly categorized as needed for your organization’s type of EEO report. For EEO-1, there are 10 categories. These should be entered into and kept up to date in the HRIS for any organization using an HRIS platform.
- Monitor industry news for updates. HR Works will continue notifying you as developments occur.
- Remember that similar reporting requirements remain for employers meeting the relevant filing thresholds and stay up to date on which reports are required for your organization. HR Works can assist you with these as needed.
- EEO Wage and Workforce Data Reports were due to Massachusetts by 2/1/26. They can still be filed.
- California Pay Data Reports were due 5/13/26. They also can still be filed.
- Minnesota, New Jersey, and Illinois reports are due on a rolling basis. Each employer receives its own deadline from the respective State.
- VETS-4212 Reports are due September 30th of each year for Federal contractors. 2025 VETS-4212 reports can still be filed. The 2026 reporting cycle is expected to open in early August.
The impact of reacting too quickly and making changes too soon could be detrimental for employers. As described by Shannon Craig, VP of AA/EEO for HR Works, “Employers risk being caught unaware and unprepared if they discontinue their employee race and gender data collection and tracking. Not only might an EEO-1 or other EEO report be filed at some point this year or next, but many employers need this data for other state reporting requirements. Employers also need demographic data to comply with the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures so that disparate impact analyses can be conducted on activities like hiring, promoting, and terminating employees. These non-discrimination analyses are important for Federal contractors undergoing audits of FAR 52.222-90 compliance. Losing or failing to gather critical demographic data, in reaction to an early-stage EEOC proposal, could create significant legal risk and, for contractors, jeopardize revenue from Federal and State contracts that may be essential to their business success.”
Employers needing assistance understanding what requirements impact them, gathering the relevant data, and filing reports can contact HR Works here.
