In 2016, the EEOC announced big changes to EEO-1 reporting. The new initiative, led by Obama-era appointees, required employers to report an entirely new category of data covering pay and hours worked for the purpose of identifying potential pay equity discrimination (“Component 2” data).
Later that year, the incoming Trump administration unsuccessfully tried to roll back the requirement, and the EEOC collected Component 2 data in 2017 and 2018. But in 2019, the EEOC announced it would stop collections, and they never resumed.
Since then, employers are left wondering: are we officially off the hook? The short answer: probably.
Last year, the EEOC proposed rulemaking regarding the agency’s authority to collect pay data to enforce Title VII and the Equal Pay Act, suggesting Component 2 collections could resume in 2025 if the rulemaking process went forward. Not surprisingly, there has been radio silence.
Further, the EEOC lacks a quorum after President Trump removed two EEOC commissioners and therefore has limited ability to issue, modify, or revoke formal guidance or regulations. Acting Chair Andrea Lucas has announced very different priorities than collecting pay data and enforcing pay equity laws, which means it’s unlikely she’ll prioritize Component 2 collections when the EEOC regains a quorum. So, it’s a safe assumption that a final rule addressing pay data collections isn’t coming any time soon.
As during the first Trump administration, employers aren’t entirely off the hook. Many states have stepped in to fill the regulatory void. Covered employers in California and Illinois are required to report pay data, and other states will likely follow suit in the coming years. Given the competing enforcement priorities of federal and state regulators, employers might consider pay equity audits to identify risk points, including state pay equity claims or those giving rise to “reverse discrimination” claims under federal law.
In the meantime, the EEOC has not yet removed its pay data dashboard, released in 2024 after synthesizing the limited collection of Component 2 data.
