On May 21, 2026, we predicted that employers’ longstanding obligations to maintain and report workforce demographic data, as required by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”), may be eliminated. That prediction has moved one step closer to becoming reality.
For nearly sixty years, covered employers and certain federal contractors have been required to maintain records and submit annual workforce demographic reports reflecting the gender, racial, and ethnic makeup of their workforces to the EEOC, including employers that have never faced a discrimination charge or a Title VII investigation.
A general rationale for EEO-1 reporting (as well as EEO-2, EEO-3, EEO-4, and EEO-5 reporting, which impose similar requirements on unions, governmental entities, and educational institutions) is that maintaining and disclosing this data aids in the investigation of employment discrimination and provides critical insight into employment trends. The collection of demographic workforce data also has informed workforce analytics, compliance efforts, and, for many employers, diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Consistent with the Trump Administration’s stated emphasis on merit-based employment practices, federal agencies have increasingly scrutinized DEI-related initiatives in employment (see, e.g., here), and more recently, demographic reporting requirements.
In May 2026, the EEOC announced that there was a proposal in the works that would rescind the...
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