EEO-1 Update

The 2024 EEO-1 Component 1 data collection is now open. The deadline to file is Tuesday, June 24, 2025.  This will be a shorter collection period than in prior years, and unlike in prior years, this is a hard deadline. Organizations that fail to file by this deadline will be considered “not compliant.”

As a brief refresher, the EEO-1 survey requires certain employers to report information regarding the race, ethnicity, and gender of its workforce by job category. Specifically, this 2024 report must include all full-time and part-time employees who were employed during an employer-selected pay period from October 1, 2024 through December 31, 2024.  In a message from EEOC Acting Director Andrea Lucas about the EEO-1 data collection, she reminds employers:

As you report data on your employees’ race, ethnicity, and sex, I want to take this opportunity to remind you of your obligations under Title VII not to take any employment actions based on, or motivated in whole or in part by, an employee’s race, sex, or other protected characteristics. Your company or organization may not use information about your employees’ race/ethnicity or sex—including demographic data you collect and report in EEO-1 Component 1 reports—to facilitate unlawful employment discrimination based on race, sex, or other protected characteristics in violation of Title VII. Title VII’s protections apply equally to all workers, regardless of their race or sex. Different treatment based on race, sex, or another protected characteristic can be unlawful discrimination, no matter which employees or applicants are harmed. There is no “diversity” exception to Title VII’s requirements.

(emphasis in original).

Historically, the EEO-1 survey must be filed annually by private employers with 100 or more employees, as well as federal contractors/subcontractors with 50 or more employees and a federal contract/subcontract in excess of $50,000.   The requirement for federal contractors stemmed from Executive Order 11246, which was rescinded by Executive Order 14173 in January 2025. Yet, the current Instruction Booklet, Fact Sheets, and FAQs each continue to cite to Executive Order 11246, and clearly state that federal contractors must file the EEO-1 for this data collection. Bottom line? The EEOC expects federal contractors to file the EEO-1 this year, even though Executive Order 11246 is no longer in effect.

Employers should begin gathering their 2024 demographic data to ensure timely compliance with their filing obligations. The 2024 EEO-1 Component 1 Instruction Booklet is available here. Also new this year: all communications related to the filing window will be made electronically, so don’t wait to receive a reminder in the mail.