EEOC Holds Public Hearing on Adding Pay Data to EEO-1 Report

On Wednesday, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) convened a public hearing to obtain feedback from stakeholders on a proposal to revise the Employer Information Report (EEO-1) to include collecting pay data from private employers, including federal contractors, with 100 or more employees. This new data will assist the agency in identifying pay disparities that warrant further investigation and assist employers in promoting equal pay in their workplaces. Since 1966, certain employers have reported annually on the EEO-1 form the number of individuals they employ by race, ethnicity, and sex, reported by job category. Under the current proposal, employers with 100 or more employees would add information on aggregate pay ranges and hours worked to the information collected, beginning with the September 2017 report. "More than 50 years after pay discrimination became illegal, it remains a persistent problem for too many Americans," said EEOC Chair Jenny R. Yang. "The lack of data has been a significant barrier to tackling unfair pay. This proposal is intended to provide the data that is needed to better understand where potential pay problems exist, so that we can strengthen our enforcement efforts and employers can work proactively to address them." The commission invited the public to participate in the hearing and today heard from 15 witnesses. These witnesses represented a wide range of stakeholders, providing the views of employers, employees, and academics. This hearing gave the commission an opportunity to hear varied perspectives on the proposal and to ask informational questions of the witnesses. The statements and biographies of the witnesses at the hearing are available at http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/meetings/3-16-16/. This hearing complements the 60-day public comment period on the proposed EEO-1 changes, which began on Feb. 1, 2016. The 60-day period comment period ends on April 1, 2016. Interested members of the public may submit comments electronically at http://www.regulations.gov.