Friday, September 27, 2019: EEO-1 Status Update
The EEOC on Friday reported to federal District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan in the National Women’s Law Center, et al., v. Office of Management and Budget and EEOC, et al., Civil Action No. 17-cv-2458 (D.D.C.) that the Commission was planning to keep the Component 2 reporting portal open for six weeks (until mid-November, 2019) beyond its closing date (today=September 30). Judge Chutkan had earlier ordered the Commission to keep the Component 2 reporting portal open until the Commission collected what the Court determined to be the agency’s “target response rate.” The Court defined the “target response rate” to be the mean percentage of Component 1 filers as measured over the last four years as compared to the required number of filers obligated in those years to file Component 1 data. The Commission had earlier reported that mean percentage to be 72%.
The EEOC also reported to the Court on Friday that as of September 25, 2019, with only five calendar days left to the September 30, 2019 Component 2 filing date that only 39.7% of eligible filers had submitted Component 2 EEO-1 data. So, the Commission is over halfway there, but with a long road ahead of it.
Note: A DE survey to its Members in March 2019 found that about 20% of DE’s Member companies would be unable to file before the end of this calendar year. Based on the DE Survey, it looks right now as though the Commission is likely going to have to keep its Component 2 reporting portal open until the end of this calendar year to collect the required 72% of Component 2 eligible filers.
The EEOC has reported it costs the taxpayers $1.5 million for every six-week period the Commission holds open the Component 2 reporting portal (i.e., $250,000 per week.) We are fielding many questions from Members about how to file the Component 2 report, and many are continually receiving “error reports” not allowing them to complete the submission.
In other news the EEOC reported to the Court, the Component 2 EEO-1 HelpDesk has answered a total of 27,237 calls from filers and has received 13,442 voice mails and 22,050 emails since opening. In the preceding week alone, the HelpDesk answered 2,347 calls from filers and received 2,243 voice mails and 4,114 emails.