The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) voted 2‑1 on Tuesday to rescind the mandatory annual EEO‑1 reporting requirement that has been in place since 1966. The proposal, advanced by the Trump administration and its Project 2025 agenda, will be open for a 30‑day public comment period before final approval.
What the EEO‑1 requirement entailed
Since its inception, the EEOC has required any private employer with at least 100 employees, and federal contractors with at least 50 workers, to file an EEO‑1 form each year. The form categorizes workers into ten job groups—from executive and senior managers to laborers and service workers—and asks employers to report the number of male and female employees as well as the numbers of workers who identify as Hispanic or Latino, Black or African American, Asian, Native Hawaiian, American Indian or Alaska Native, or two or more races.
Data from the form typically covers more than 50 million employees at roughly 73 000 employers nationwide. The EEOC has used the aggregated information to identify patterns of discrimination, set enforcement priorities, and support investigations.
Reasons given for ending the rule
EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas, a vocal critic of diversity and inclusion mandates, argued that the reporting requirement imposes “hundreds of millions of dollars” in costs on businesses without clear evidence of discrimination. She warned that the data collection could encourage employers to justify discriminatory practices in the name of workforce diversity.
“It may promote racial stereotyping at work, and it may encourage employers to engage in discrimination,” Lucas said during a hearing preceding the vote.
Opposition from Democrats and civil‑rights advocates
Democratic EEOC commissioners and a coalition of civil‑rights organizations condemned the proposal, saying it would strip the agency of a critical tool for tracking how women and racial minorities have fared since the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Commissioner Kalpana Kotagal, the sole Democrat remaining on the commission, voted against the measure and warned that the agency was “turning back time to a period before the civil‑rights movement, kneecapping its ability to protect workers.”
Former Democratic commissioners and legal counsel also argued that the data helps companies voluntarily examine hiring, promotion, and benefits policies to avoid unintentional barriers.
Impact on transparency and corporate reporting
In recent years, many large public companies have voluntarily disclosed their EEO‑1 data in response to shareholder pressure and calls for transparency. However, a growing number of firms have begun pulling back from publicizing these reports. In 2025, 24 of the S&P 100’s largest companies chose not to release their EEO‑1 data after having done so the prior year, according to researcher Andrew Jones of The Conference Board Governance & Sustainability Center.
Supporters of the reporting requirement maintain that the standardized form remains the only reliable way to compare workforce demographics across firms and industries.
Next steps
The EEOC’s proposal now enters a 30‑day comment period, during which businesses, advocacy groups, and the public can submit feedback. After the comment period, the commission will decide whether to finalize the rule change, which would effectively end the federal collection of employer demographic data for the first time in six decades.
Original reporting: Alexandria, VA News – WTOP News — read the source article.
