Equal Employment Opportunity Reporting

The Equal Employment Opportunity Act (1972) is a set of laws, regulations and processes that are designed to ensure that all employment-related decisions are based solely on job-related factors and without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity and sexual orientation), national origin, age, disability, genetic information, or other factors protected by law. The EEOA is enforced by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which is responsible for enforcing Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Equal Pay Act, the Age Discrimination Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act.  
 
Employers with 15 or more employees are covered by Title VII and are required to maintain employment records as specified by the EEOC. Employers, with 100 or more employees and/or federal contractors with at least 50 employees and federal contracts of at least $50,000 per year, are required to file annual reports by March 31st of each year.   The employment data used for the EEO-1 report should be collected using a snapshot of a payroll period between October 1st and December 31st of the reporting year.
 
Employers must be cognizant of their need to maintain applicant flow data regarding an employee’s sex, race, and job category. The EEOC has developed a set of guidelines for collecting this data. Detailed instructions have been made available on the EEOC website. Self-identification is the preferred method of identifying the race and ethnic information necessary for the EEO-1 report. Employers are required to allow employees the ability to self-identify. If an employee declines to self-identify, employment records or observer identification may be used.
 

The EEOC defines Race and Ethnic categories as follows:

  • Hispanic or Latino – A person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American or other Spanish culture or origin regardless of race.
  • White (Not Hispanic or Latino) – a person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa.
  • Black or African American (Not Hispanic or Latino) – A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa.
  • Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander (Not Hispanic or Latino) – A person having origins in any of the peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands.
  • Asian (Not Hispanic or Latino) – a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian Subcontinent, including for example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand and Vietnam.
  • American Indian or Alaska Native (Not Hispanic or Latino) – A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America) and who maintain tribal affiliation or community attachment.
  • Two or more Races (Not Hispanic or Latino) – All persons who identify with more than one of the above five races.
The EEOC defines Job Categories as follows:  
  • Executive/Senior Level Officials and Managers
  • First/Mid-Level Officials and Managers
  • Professionals
  • Technicians
  • Sales Workers
  • Administrative Support Workers
  • Craft Workers
  • Operatives
  • Laborers and Helpers
  • Service Workers
Detailed definitions of each Job Category may be located on the EEOC website within the, EEO-1 Job Classification Guide. EEO records must be maintained separate from the employee’s basic personnel file and may only be made available to those responsible for personnel decisions.
 
AdminAssist will provide a summary of the companies’ employee demographics based upon the information submitted by the Client. This summary will be made available upon request. The Client will be responsible for filing their own personal EEO-1 report each year with the federal government. Clients may register and file online on the EEO-1 Survey site. Further details and information may be located on the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission site.      
 
The information contained within this document is subject to change. The information is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice, direction, or consent.