As a result of the COVID-19 public health emergency, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced on May 8, 2020 that it will delay the opening of the 2019 EEO-1 Component 1 data collection and the 2020 EEO-3 and EEO-5 data collections.

Recognizing the impact that this unprecedented global pandemic will have on employers’ efforts to collect and submit the data, the EEOC anticipates opening the collection in 2021.

First, the EEOC anticipates opening the collection of the 2020 EEO-3 and EEO-5 data in January 2021. The EEO-3 applies to local referral unions with 100 or more employees, and the EEO-5 applies to public and elementary schools districts with 100 or more employees. Both of these surveys collect data indicating the composition of an employers’ work forces by sex and by race/ethnic category.

Second, the EEOC anticipates opening the collection of both 2019 and 2020 EEO-1 Component 1 data in March 2021. Like the EEO-3 and EEO-5, the EEO-1, which applies to private employers with 100 or more employees and federal contractors with 50 or more employees, also collects employment data regarding the race/ethnicity and gender composition of employers’ work forces. Unlike its counterparts, it is broken down into two components: Component 1, which includes data regarding the makeup of the workforce; and Component 2, which includes pay data. As we discussed in a previous alert, the EEOC does not intend to collect 2019 Component 2 data.

The EEOC has not announced specific dates as to when it intends to begin collecting the data discussed above. We will continue to monitor and report as updates are available. While awaiting guidance from the EEOC as to when this information must be reported, employers should continue collecting and maintaining self-identification data from its employees in order to be prepared to submit same in early 2021.