On Wednesday, April 3, 2019, the EEOC filed a submission in the ongoing litigation associated with the reporting of pay data. This submission was provided to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, which is hearing the case titled National Women’s Law Center v. Office of Management and Budget.

As we have reported, the court had recently lifted the stay imposed by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regarding the reporting of pay data by employers subject to the requirements for the EEO-1 report. In its submisson on April 3, EEOC stated that it would comply with the court’s order and ask employers to submit pay data by September 30, 2019.

EEOC Currently Collecting Traditional Data

EEOC is currently in the midst of collecting the traditional demographic data on ethnicity, race, and gender from employers required to provide this data. The traditional demographic data must be provided by May 30, 2019. This data must be based on a payroll from the fourth quarter of 2018.

Collection of Pay Data, Approved in 2016, Now May Be Implemented

EEOC had established rules for how pay data was to be reported in 2016, but the actual reporting of pay data was stayed by OMB, and EEOC has taken no action to collect this data. In its April 3 submission, EEOC indicated there would be logistical hurdles to building a system that would allow employers to report compensation data. EEOC expects to use an outside contractor to build a system to that would allow employers to report compensation data by September 30, 2019. While EEOC’s submission did not provide specific details on how the data would be reported, and the submission did not provide specific details on the time frame associated with the reporting of this data, a document submitted by EEOC’s Chief Data Officer did provide some details in this regard. In its submission, EEOC expressed concerns about both the cost and burden associated with the collection of the pay data.

We will continue to follow this story and provide additional information as it is available. EEOC’s latest submission in this court case can be read here.