The EEOC Opens Portal for 2019 and 2020 EEO-1 Component 1 Reports With New Data Collection Website

With its recently relaunched data collection website, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) begins its annual Employer Information Report EEO-1 Component 1 (EEO-1 Component 1 Report) survey for previously pandemic-delayed 2019 and 2020 EEO-1 Component 1 data. The 2019 and 2020 EEO-1 Component 1 data collection will open today April 26, 2021, and close on July 19, 2021, as previously reported.

The EEOC collects workforce data from covered private employers with 100 or more employees (and federal contractors with 50 or more employees). The annual EEO-1 reports include workforce head count data by establishment location, gender and race/ethnicity. As a reminder, companies need to file the EEO-1 Component 1 Reports for 2019 and 2020 if they were in business and met the filing requirements for each year. If a company was ineligible for filing a report in 2019 and/or 2020, it must certify that it was ineligible for each particular year.

Note that all companies (new and old filers) will need to create an account in the new EEO-1 Component 1 Online Filing System. The new EEO-1 Component 1 Online Filing System will offer two methods for submitting the required data. Filers can either directly enter the requested data into a secure web portal or upload data files. Regardless of the method selected to provide data, applicable filers will need to create a user account with their company ID and passcode. Previous filers will receive their company ID and password via U.S. mail, and new filers will receive said information at the time of registration.

To complete the report, companies will also need their:

• EIN, NAICS Codes and DUNS Number
• The address and EINs of all establishment locations
• The count of all full- and part-time employees during the workforce snapshot pay period selected by the employer
• The sex, race/ethnicity and job categories of all employees

In addition to launching the new online filing system, the EEO-1 website features refreshed resource information, including 21 FAQs and four fact sheets, which discuss the EEO-1 report, pointers for preparing to file and getting started, and reporting requirements for company organizational changes. For example, the EEOC’s FAQs instruct that employees working remotely must be included in the EEO-1 Component 1 Report for the establishment to which they report (rather than including home addresses for these employees as a company location). Unfortunately, however, the EEOC continues to provide no guidance on the manner in which to report employees who identify as nonbinary.

To the extent a company underwent an acquisition, merger or spinoff between January 2019 and December 2020, the company must report it to the EEO-1 Component 1 Filer Support Team prior to proceeding with the filing. The organizational change can also be reported to the EEO-1 Component 1 Filer Support Team through the filer support page.

Faegre Drinker will continue to monitor and report on the submission of EEO-1 Component 1 data as additional information is issued by the EEOC.