Must your company file an EEO-1 report on an annual basis? If your company has facilities in different geographical areas, how are these reported on the EEO-1? How are you collecting gender and ethnicity/race information from your employees for this report, and is that protocol consistent with the parameters set by the Department of Labor (DOL)? Do you know that September 30 is the filing deadline established by the government for filing yearly EEO-1s?
The EEO-1 report is a compliance survey report that is mandated by federal statute and regulations and requires company employment data to be categorized by race/ethnicity, gender and job categories. The federal government has collected annual EEO-1 reports from private employers since 1966. All employers with 100 or more employees and government contractors with 50+ employees and at least one federal contract or subcontract of $50,000+ must file this report, generally in September of each year. The report collects data about gender and race/ethnicity by job groupings, and the reports are shared with other federal agencies.
Why are employers required to deal with this maze of data every year? The reasons are many and include the fact that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) often reviews EEO-1 reports when investigating a charge of discrimination. In addition, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) relies, in part, on EEO-1 data to determine which federal contractors will be subject to a compliance evaluation (audit). Even plaintiffs’ attorneys and your competitors often find EEO-1 data relevant, and arguments about disclosure of such information to outside parties are not uncommon.
Simply put, EEO-1 reports are an important enforcement tool for the federal regulators, and may be relied upon by private parties to support or defend against discrimination claims.
Make sure you have the information you need before you file your 2012 EEO-1 report! Learn what information to collect, and how that information is interpreted by the government by attending Ogletree Deakins’ August 28 webinar, “Best Practices for Preparing EEO-1 Reports and VETS-100A Forms.” The webinar will be led by Leigh Nason, a shareholder in the firm’s Columbia, South Carolina office, who chairs the firm’s Affirmative Action/OFCCO Compliance Practice Group and is nationally recognized for her work in representing contractors and subcontractors in compliance evaluations and administrative enforcement actions triggered by the DOL’s OFCCP. Leigh will provide information, answer questions, and help you to navigate the maze of OFCCP regulations and requirements in this increasingly-complicated arena. Register on the firm’s site at www.ogletreedeakins.com.