On Tuesday, the Office of Management and Budget notified the EEOC that it was delaying a rule finalized last year that would require large employers to report salaries of workers.  The rule was implemented to help combat gender pay inequality.

The rule would require any employer who must file an EEO-1 report, which is any private employer with 100 or more employees or federal contractor with 50 or more employees, to provide the previously required information about the number of its employees broken down by gender, race and ethnicity.  The second part of the rule would require employers to also submit W2 payroll data for its employees.

EEO-1 reports are filed in September of each year.  The rule was to go into effect for 2017.  Just days before the EEO-1 survey for 2017 with the new reporting requirements was scheduled to be opened, the OMB put on the brakes.

The EEOC, however, wants to make clear that this announcement does not mean that there will be a lack of enforcement in this area.  Law 360 is reporting that the EEOC Chair stressed Wednesday that gender pay inequality was still a “high priority.”

In the meantime, the 2017 EEO-1 online portal is temporarily off-line.  Employers will still have to provide the data required by the first part of the rule and should periodically check with the EEOC to see when the 2017 survey is issued.

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