The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission held a two-hour public hearing on August 11 to examine a proposal that could fundamentally reshape how employers report workforce data.
The hearing brought together employers, academics, civil rights advocates, policy organisations, and a former EEOC General Counsel to weigh in on the agency’s proposal.
At issue is whether the long-standing EEO-1 reporting requirement should be eliminated entirely, ending decades of mandatory workforce demographic submissions to the federal government.
The EEOC had signalled earlier in the summer its rationale for potentially scrapping the requirement, arguing it may constitute an unnecessary and potentially harmful regulatory burden on businesses.
Supporters of elimination contend that government-mandated classification of employees by race and sex encourages “category thinking” among employers making day-to-day workforce decisions.
Proponents of scrapping the requirement further argue it incentivises employers to evaluate their workforce through a demographic lens rather than on the basis of individual merit alone.
The concern raised at the hearing is that EEO-1 reporting induces employers to make employment decisions based on protected characteristics, directly undermining Title VII and the EEOC’s own stated mission.
Opponents of the proposal pushed back firmly, emphasising that collecting data is not the same as making employment decisions based on protected characteristics.
The debate, as it emerged across the hearing, ultimately centres on a single question that divides both sides: what happens when we stop counting?
The EEOC Commissioners did not vote on the proposal during the hearing, leaving the outcome still very much open as deliberations continue into late August.
Written comments on the proposal remain open through August 24, 2026, giving employers, advocacy groups, and members of the public a final opportunity to shape the outcome.
Following the close of the comment period, the EEOC will decide whether to move forward with a full rescission of the EEO-1 reporting framework.
Regardless of the final decision, Title VII recordkeeping obligations are not going away, and workforce demographic data will likely continue to feature prominently in compliance, investigations, and litigation.
Employers are being advised to monitor the process closely and ensure their internal data practices remain robust, whatever the regulatory outcome ultimately proves to be.