Haynes and Boone, LLP Partner Adam Sencenbaugh talked with Bloomberg Law about the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC’s) move to postpone the collection of business diversity data during the coronavirus pandemic.
Here is an excerpt:
The federal agency that enforces workplace civil rights law wants to spare businesses during the coronavirus pandemic from a requirement to submit workforce-diversity data broken down by race, sex, ethnicity, and job group.
[The commission] … will delay the collection of diversity data for 2019, which businesses normally provide in response to an annual survey known as the EEO-1, pending White House approval of the information collection, the agency announced in a Federal Register notice. The agency asked for the Office of Management and Budget’s approval for the collection March 20.
In a statement, the EEOC said that it recognizes businesses are dealing with “unique and urgent” issues because of the public-health emergency, and delaying the collection could ensure “accurate, valid, and reliable data.”
If the White House’s Office of Management and Budget approves the collection request, the EEOC would collect the data for 2019 and 2020 beginning in March 2021. The agency has collected the data since 1966, based on authority granted under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Haynes and Boone Partner Adam Sencenbaugh said employers welcome the filing delay because they’re busy responding to the public health emergency.
“It’s one less thing, since they’re frankly so overwhelmed with trying to handle the rest of the workforce,” he said.
To read the full article, click here.
Here is an excerpt:
The federal agency that enforces workplace civil rights law wants to spare businesses during the coronavirus pandemic from a requirement to submit workforce-diversity data broken down by race, sex, ethnicity, and job group.
[The commission] … will delay the collection of diversity data for 2019, which businesses normally provide in response to an annual survey known as the EEO-1, pending White House approval of the information collection, the agency announced in a Federal Register notice. The agency asked for the Office of Management and Budget’s approval for the collection March 20.
In a statement, the EEOC said that it recognizes businesses are dealing with “unique and urgent” issues because of the public-health emergency, and delaying the collection could ensure “accurate, valid, and reliable data.”
If the White House’s Office of Management and Budget approves the collection request, the EEOC would collect the data for 2019 and 2020 beginning in March 2021. The agency has collected the data since 1966, based on authority granted under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Haynes and Boone Partner Adam Sencenbaugh said employers welcome the filing delay because they’re busy responding to the public health emergency.
“It’s one less thing, since they’re frankly so overwhelmed with trying to handle the rest of the workforce,” he said.
To read the full article, click here.