There are many different facets to running a business, one of which is knowing what reports and other documents you need to file and when you need to file them. Of course, given that there are a number of different types of these documents that collect a different assortment of data, all with different deadlines, can make keeping track of them easier said than done. In fact, keeping track of all the different things you have to do to remain compliant as a business (and ensuring those things get done) could almost be a full-time job in it of itself. So it should come as no surprise, then, that keeping track of all these different rules and regulations while still doing all of the other things you have to do in order to keep your business running smoothly is a little bit stressful.
At Payday HCM, we understand this stress. Not only do we have to keep track of all of the various rules and deadlines and whatnot, but we also have clients that we have to ensure remain compliant. We’ve received countless questions from current and potential clients regarding a whole host of things, from tax filing to ACA reporting. And, with recent changes announced to the EEO-1 report, which removed the option for employers to include information on non-binary employees, as well as the reporting start date of May 20 approaching, we wanted to provide an overview of the EEO-1 reporting process.
So, in this article, we’ll be going over what an EEO-1 report is and who is required to file one. We’ll start by going into the background of the EEO-1 report before diving into the specific information that an EEO-1 report includes as well as who is required to submit one. By the end of this article, you’ll have all the information you need to approach your EEO-1 reporting filing this year with confidence.
In this article, you will learn:
- What Is An EEO-1 Report?
- Who Is Required To Submit An EEO-1 Report?
- Tips For Filling Out An EEO-1 Report
What Is An EEO-1 Report?
First off, we’ll start by detailing what an EEO-1 report is, including its historical background as well as the information it includes.
Origins Of The EEO-1 Report
The EEO-1 report originated with the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The act established the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, whose mission “is to eliminate unlawful employment discrimination.” During the commission’s early years, they would struggle with a lack of guidance surrounding determining discriminatory practices, such as whether separate hiring ads for men and women could be considered sex-based discrimination.
Shortly after the commission’s formation in 1965, in 1966, the EEOC introduced the EEO-1 report, which would provide information about the race, sex, and ethnicity of employees who work for certain companies. The report covers approximately fifty percent of the U.S.’s private payroll workers.
What’s In An EEO-1 Report?
The actual EEO-1 report itself is a two-page document that has employers fill out general information about their company, whether their company falls into certain industry categories, and a table that details the demographic information of the employees of their company.
The table on the EEO-1 form where you input employee data. Photo courtesy of the EEOC.
The table for filling out employee data is broken down into different sections. Each row is for a different “job category” broken up into things like executives, first-level managers, sales workers, technicians, and other categories. The columns are where you find information regarding sex, race, and ethnicity. Employers report the number of employees that fit into each of the categories.
To acquire the employee data necessary for filling out the EEO-1 report, the EEOC recommends that employees self-report their own demographic information. In cases where an employee chooses not to self-report, however, other employment records or “observer identification” can be used.
Who Is Required To Submit An EEO-1 Report?
Now that we have a better understanding of what an EEO-1 report is and what it contains, we’ll dive a bit deeper into who is actually required to fill out a report.
Private Employers
EEO-1 reports have to be submitted by certain private employers and federal contractors. For private employers, if you have 100 or more employees during a “workforce snapshot period,” then you are required to submit an EEO-1 report.
For the purposes of determining reporting requirements, a workforce snapshot period is defined as any employer-selected pay period within the last quarter of the reporting year. Additionally, private employers who are less than 100 employees but are a part of a common ownership structure that does equal or exceed 100 employees are required to submit an EEO-1 report.
Federal Contractors
Federal contractors are also required to submit an EEO-1 report. However, not all federal contractors are required to submit a report, only ones that:
- Have 50 or more employees
- Is a prime or a first-tier subcontractor
- Has a contract worth $50,000 or more
There is also a longer list of exceptions to these requirements for things like contracts with state or local governments, religious institutions, or work performed outside the U.S.
One thing to note: President Trump signed an executive order that makes the federal contractor requirement for filing an EEO-1 report a bit unclear. Until more proper guidance is issued by the EEOC or the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, assume that these requirements still apply.
Tips For Filling Out An EEO-1 Report
With a better understanding of what an EEO-1 report is and who is required to submit one, we can go into some tips for filling out an EEO-1 report.
Classifying Employees
One of the more confusing elements of the EEO-1 report is the employee classification categories. These categories are:
- Executive/Senior-level officials and managers
- First/Mid-level officials and managers
- Professionals
- Technicians
- Sales workers
- Administrative support workers
- Craft workers
- Operatives
- Laborers and helpers
- Service workers
The EEO-1 doesn’t require that every employee accounted for within the report fit neatly into any of these categories, but rather the one that fits their job best. To ensure timely filing, try to work out which categories your employees fit into ahead of time so that you can save yourself time and effort later on.
Deadlines And Reporting Updates
As of the publication of this article, the starting dates and end reporting deadline haven’t officially been announced by the EEOC yet. However, a draft booklet released by the EEOC, which outlines some of the changes to this year’s reporting process, does list the start date as May 20 and the end deadline as June 24.
For businesses that are required to file an EEO-1 report, it is best to keep an eye on the EEOC data collection website, which will be updated whenever the filing deadline is officially announced. It will also be good to keep an eye on that page for further guidance for federal contractors.
One Step Closer To Stress-Free Reporting
Keeping track of all the various rules and regulations that your business has to remain compliant with can be an overwhelming task. Not only that, but you add in the weight of just running your business on top of that, and you’re likely to become stressed out and, at worst, forget about certain things you have to be compliant with. When it comes to EEO-1 reporting, not every employer has to do it, but for the ones that do, it’s important to ensure timely and accurate filing so that all of your compliance bases are covered. With the information provided in this article, you’ll be able to take a breather knowing that your business is up-to-date with all of its reporting requirements.
EEO-1 reporting requirements aren’t the only thing that have undergone changes recently. Guidelines for determining independent contractors have also changed, affecting how businesses approach their tax forms. Check out our article for a refresher on W-2 employees and 1099 contractors and the differences between them.