Hunton Retail Law Resource

Recently, the EEOC has announced the approval of a revised EEO-1 report (“Revised Report”), applying to the 2017 calendar year with the first report due by March 31, 2018. In addition to the disclosures required by the current EEO-1 report, the Revised Report will require employers with 100 or more employees to provide compensation data and the number of hours worked by employees across 12 separate pay bands, categorized by gender, race and ethnicity. The current EEO-1 report only collects data regarding the number of employees categorized by gender, race and ethnicity in 10 different job groupings.

The Revised Report will require more time and involvement in its preparation, as it consists of 3,360 data points compared to the 121 data points required by the current form. Specifically, employers must report the total number of employees in 12 pay bands for each of the 10 EEO-1 job categories. In identifying the correct pay band, employers must refer to the reported compensation in Box 1 of the W-2 form. The number of employees is sub-categorized by gender and seven race and ethnicity groups, including Hispanic or Latino, White, Black or African American, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, Asian, Native American or Alaska native, or two or more races. The 10 job categories remain unchanged, which include 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 and Service Workers.

Employers must also provide the total number of hours worked by all employees accounted for in each pay band, which may be collected by referring to time records for non-exempt employees. For exempt employees, employers have the option to report 40 hours per week for full-time employees and 20 hours per week for part-time employees, or report the number of actual hours worked. The employee count disclosed on the Revised Report will be based on a “workforce snapshot” period between October 1, 2017, and December 31, 2017. Employers may select any pay period during the three-month snapshot window to conduct the count.

Retail employers with large and diverse workforces will face the brunt of the Revised Report’s requirements. With only a few more months remaining before pay data becomes reportable on the Revised Report, employers should prepare by reviewing their compensation practices and policies to identify any indications of disparity or bias on the basis of gender, race or ethnicity. Such review should be completed with enough time to correct any disparities before pay data must be reported, as EEO-1 reports may be used to prosecute pay discrimination claims in the future.