The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued a press release on January 12, 2021, notifying EEO-1 filers that the EEO-1 filing platform will not open until April 2021. This is of particular interest for employers because the EEOC delayed the 2019 EEO-1 filings, which would normally have been due in March 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic—meaning that both the 2019 and 2020 EEO-1 filings will be due this year. The April 2021 opening date for the EEO-1 filing platform is later than the standard pre-pandemic mid-January platform opening date to which employers are accustomed. The press release states that the EEOC will provide to all prior EEO-1 filers the exact platform opening date and the due dates for the 2019 and 2020 EEO-1 filings in a letter and an announcement on the agency’s home page, as well as on a website dedicated specifically to EEO reports.
The press release and pay data collection website also provide updates for the opening of filing platforms for 2020 EEO-5 reports (public elementary/secondary school districts), which will open in July 2021; 2020 EEO-3 reports (local referral unions), which will open in August 2021; and 2021 EEO-4 reports (state/local governments), which will open in October 2021. The press release encourages EEO filers to begin preparing to submit data for their EEO-1 filings. This sounds like good advice from the EEOC for employers that not only must deal with two years of EEO-1 filings but also an increasing number of state pay reporting requirements, including the first year of California pay data report filings.
Ogletree Deakins will continue to provide updates concerning these filings as additional information becomes available and will post updates to the firm’s Affirmative Action/OFCCP, Government Contractors, and Pay Equity blogs. Important information for employers is also available via the firm’s webinar and podcast programs.
