As of 2016, The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) and the Obama administration announced a proposed revision to the Employer Information Report (“EEO-1”) that the agency says will assist in identifying possible instances of pay discrimination and help employers promote equal pay in the workplace. The EEOC collects workforce profiles annually, which include data on employees’ race, gender, and ethnicity. The proposed revision to the EEO-1 form would require employers with more than 100 employees to also provide the date on pay ranges and hours worked beginning with the September 2017 report. The proposal calls for summary wage data to be reported across job categories and pay ranges, but does not require the reporting of specific employee salaries.
EEOC Chair Jenny Yang said access to aggregated pay data would assist employers in their own analysis and ultimately facilitate voluntary compliance. Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez echoed these comments, as the new policies are likely to prevent discrimination and enable the Department of Labor with resources and information to address discrimination in the workforce. Employers should anticipate that this data will be used to specifically identify employers engaging in pay discrimination and negligent labor practices. These changes will be published in the Federal Register and the public comment period will remain open until April 1, 2016.
