As your company grows and hits a certain size, you may need to comply with more reporting requirements from the U.S. government. Depending on the number of employees you have, one of these requirements might be filing an EEO-1 report.
EEO-1 reports are multi-faceted and can be tricky, especially if it’s your first time submitting one. And because there are penalties for not filing an EEO-1 report, or for providing inaccurate filings, the stakes are high.
In this blog, we’ll explain and simplify the complexities of EEO-1 reporting requirements, so you can stay compliant at your organization.
Applicable large employers (ALEs) have EEO-1 reporting requirements. Learn more about what ALEs are subject to in our complete guideWhat is the purpose of an EEO-1 report?
The EEO-1 report, also known as a Standard Form 100, is mandated by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1967 and the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972. The acts prohibit employment discrimination based on race/ethnicity, religion, gender, and national origin.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) enforces provisions of the Civil Rights Act, takes action against violators, and requires annual data collection from covered employers. Their website also provides helpful resource materials to help you file your report compliantly.
The EEO-1 report requires companies to report on demographic workforce data broken down by:
- Race/ethnicity
- Sex/gender
- Job category
Consider annual EEO-1 reports as a roadmap or snapshot of your workforce’s diversity at a specific time. The snapshot can help you understand and take steps to address any inequities. After all, having a diverse workforce helps your business create a more positive and inclusive workplace culture.
The EEO-1 reporting requirement also helps build a broader picture of diversity and opportunity across U.S. employers as a whole by providing context for conversations around issues like sex discrimination, affirmative action, and pay equity.
Who is required to complete an EEO-1 report?
All private employers with 15 or more employees must comply with Title VII of the Civil Rights Act to be considered an equal opportunity employer. However, not every private employer is required to collect EEO-1 data.
You must file an EEO-1 report if you are a private-sector employer who has:
- 100 or more employees, also known as an applicable large employer (ALE)
- This excludes state and local governments, public schools, higher education institutions, American Indian or Alaska Native tribes, and tax-exempt private membership clubs other than labor organizations
- Fewer than 100 employees, but is owned or controlled by a company with more than 100 employees overall
All federal contractors must also fill out an EEO-1 report if they have:
- 50 or more employees and are first-tier subcontractors, and have a federal contract, subcontract, or purchase order amounting to $50,000
- Serve as a depository of government funds in any amount
- Act as an issuing and paying agent for U.S. Savings Bonds and Savings Notes
When considering the information above, remember that employers only need to fill out the EEO-1 form if their organization is operated within the U.S.
Information to include on your EEO-1 form
EEO-1 reports must include information from a demographic workforce snapshot pay period, which is any pay period from October through December of the current year. Only part-time and full-time employees that are on the payroll count when determining employees for the period.
For employers subject to EEO-1 reporting requirements, the following information should be included in your report:
- Number of reports being filed by the company
- Company information
- Employer Identification Number (EIN)
- Previous year’s total
- All employee demographic information listed by location, job category, race/ethnicity, and gender
- EEO-1 reports list available employee job categories as executive-level officials and managers, mid-level officials and managers, professionals, technicians, sales workers, administrative support workers, craft workers, operatives, laborers, and service workers
- Employers must submit a demographic breakdown by specific race and ethnicity categories, which are White, Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, American Indian or Native Alaskan, Asian, Hispanic or Latino, or Black or African American
- Date of payroll periods used
- The date, your title, and your signature
- Your contact information
The last but critical step is to indicate if you’re a single- or multi-establishment employer. The EEOC defines a single-establishment company as an organization that conducts business at only one physical address.
A multi-establishment company does business at two or more physical addresses. A single-establishment company is only required to submit one EEO-1 Component 1 report. If you’re a multi-establishment employer, you have a few added tasks.
If you’re a multi-establishment employer, you’ll also need to submit each of these EEO-1 reports:
- Consolidated Report (Type 2): This report includes all employees.
- Headquarters Report (Type 3): This report contains information about the headquarters.
- Establishment Report (Type 4): This report is mandated for each establishment you have with 50 or more employees.
Multi-establishment employers with fewer than 50 employees must submit one of the following:
- Establishment List (Type 6): This includes the establishment name, address, and total employee number for each physical location with fewer than 50 employees.
- Establishment Report (Type 8): This report is mandated for every establishment you have that employs fewer than 50 people.
Once you have completed filling out your required forms, you’re ready to file your EEO-1 report with the EEOC.
How to file your EEO-1 report
The filing process for the EEO-1 Component 1 report is on the EEOC website, which includes relevant materials, additional instructions, and FAQs. First-time filers can fill out a simple registration form online to set up an account to file their report each year.
If you’re filing an EEO-1 Component 1 report for the first time, use these simple steps to get the job done:
- Register on the EEOC’s website
- Collect information for your EEO-1 report
- Fill out your EEO-1 form
- Submit your completed report to the EEOC by the indicated deadline
- Keep a copy of your annual EEO-1 form in your records for at least one year for informational purposes
If you don’t want to use the online EEO-1 Component 1 data filing system, you can submit your data with a paper report. However, the EEOC prefers eligible filers to use the online filing process, so paper forms are only available upon request and approval.
When is the EEO-1 report due?
The deadline to submit your EEO-1 report can vary from year to year. Sometimes an extension may be given officially by the EEOC, such as the extended deadlines during the COVID-19 pandemic. Eligible filers can also request a one-off 30-day extension.
The EEO-1 Component 1 report for 2022 is tentatively scheduled to begin in April 2023. Updates regarding data collection, the opening date, and other requirements will be listed on the EEO-1 website1 as they become available.
Who should take responsibility for filing the EEO-1 report?
Since most of the data required to fill out an EEO-1 report is held within your HR department, your HR team is typically responsible for completing the report and requesting filing updates.
EEO-1 reporting isn’t just crucial for upholding an ethical organization and creating a culture of compliance—it’s mandatory. That’s why the penalties for not filing or submitting inaccurate filings are substantial.
Therefore, your HR compliance team should be heavily invested in reporting accurate and timely filings, so that you and your leadership team are confident that the data submitted for your organization is completed correctly.
What happens if you don’t file an EEO-1 report?
There aren’t any direct financial penalties for not filing an EEO-1 component 1 report. However, it’s in your company’s best interests to comply with the requirement.
Under federal law, the EEOC can compel an employer to file the EEO-1 report by obtaining a court order from the United States District Court, which could lead to the employer being held in contempt. Federal contractor penalties may include termination of their government contract and removal from future federal contracts.
Additionally, false statements on an EEO-1 report can subject eligible employers to fines, imprisonment of up to five years, or both.
A more practical consequence of failing to file an EEO-1 report for one or more years is that an employer can’t comply with federal agency enforcement efforts, and therefore lose credibility in an investigation.
For example, if an employee submits a discrimination or harassment complaint about your company to the EEOC, one of the first things agency representatives will do is review your company’s EEO-1 data. Depending on their findings, your company’s history of compliance could impact the outcome of the investigation.
Conclusion
EEO-1 reporting is an essential annual requirement and human resource task for companies of a certain size. EEOC guidelines can be a daunting process, but not completing the required report can lead to trouble. And because EEO-1 data tracks compliance to improve inclusion efforts, it’s best practice for companies to comply.
If you’re an ALE struggling with compliance, we can help you out. If you have a health reimbursement arrangement (HRA) through PeopleKeep, we can compliantly manage your HRA, giving you more time to take care of your business’s federal compliance obligations. Schedule a call with a personalized benefits advisor today to see how we can help.
This article was originally published on March 9, 2022. It was last updated on November 21, 2022.
