Key Takeaways:

• While the precise timeline is unknown, most agree that eventual rescission of required reporting is inevitable.

• The EEO-1 reporting requirements remain in effect for this year’s filing.

• Some states, including California and New York, have similar state-level reporting requirements that will remain even if the federal requirements are eliminated.

On May 14, 2026, the EEOC submitted a formal proposal seeking to eliminate the mandatory EEO-1 reporting requirements. No other publicly available information was provided by the EEOC other than the title of its submission to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA): “Rescission of EEO-1, EEO-2, EEO-3, EEO-4, EEO-5, and Reporting Requirement Under Title VII, the ADA, GINA, and the PWFA.”

Since 1966, the EEOC has required employers with 100 or more employees to file an EEO-1 report that provides the number of employees at all of their locations along with the employees’ job category, sex, and race or ethnicity. The data has been used by the EEOC and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Program (OFCCP) to monitor employment practices and identify potential workplace discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA), and the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA).

The EEOC’s proposal is consistent with the current presidential administration’s broader policy of eliminating DEI initiatives nationally. However, there remain a number of steps before the reporting requirement is fully rescinded. To start, the proposal will be subject to review and approval by the OIRA, followed by the EEOC publishing the rule in the Federal Register for a 60-day comment period and submitting an information collection request to rescind the EEO-1 form.  This process could last several months, and even if the reporting requirement is eliminated, employers are still obligated to file their 2025 EEO-1 reports while the requirements are in effect.

Employers should stay up to date on further updates on this issue in the coming months. Prior to 2018, employers were required to submit their EEO-1 reports by September 30 each year. Since 2018, that date has fluctuated from as early as March 31 to as late as October 31. In 2025, the filing window opened on May 20 and closed on June 24.

Employers should therefore have their data ready for filing as early as possible, which requires that they maintain the following for each of their full- and part-time employees:

• EEO-1 job category
• Ethnicity/race
• Gender

EEO-1 reports require employers to list all full- and part-time employees working during a pay period in the fourth quarter. For the 2026 report, employers should include all employees who worked during a pay period between October 1, 2025, and December 31, 2025.

It remains in an employer’s best interest to maintain this demographic data and assume that reporting for 2025 will be required this year. Additionally, employers in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New York, and Washington are required to report similar information on a state level that is in addition to what is required at the federal level.

Employers in every state should do the following right now:

• Confirm whether your business is covered by the EEO-1 reporting requirements, i.e., the business employs 100 or more employees.
• Audit all applicable human resources and payroll data.
• Continue to monitor updates at the state and federal level that affect what information is required to be reported and when.

If you have questions about how the EEOC’s proposed change to EEO-1 reporting could impact your business if it is enacted, please contact:

• Michael R. Luchsinger
• Cali L. Chandiramani
• Scott R. Green
• Christopher P. Maugans
• Caroline J. Berdzik
• Stephen C. Mazzara
• Or another member of the Employment and Labor team