EEOC Sent OIRA a Proposed Rule on May 14 to End the EEO-1 Report for 100-Employee Firms

Private employers with 100 or more employees must file the EEO-1 Component 1 report with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission each year. Cooley describes it as a mandatory annual data collection in place since 1966, covering workforce data by job category, sex, and race or ethnicity.

The requirement has been the subject of a federal proposal to end it. On May 14, 2026, the EEOC sent a proposed rule to rescind the EEO-1 and related reports to the Office of Management and Budget’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), which reviews proposed rules before publication. A proposal is not a final rule.

Which Employers Must File

The EEOC’s data page says private-sector employers with 100 or more employees must file. It also says federal contractors with 50 or more employees must file if they meet certain criteria. Cooley describes the contractor rule in the same terms.

DirectEmployers reads the federal contractor rule differently. It says the rescission of Executive Order 11246 in early 2025 removed the lower 50-employee threshold that applied only to federal contractors. Under that reading, as of May 19, contractors were subject to the same 100-employee threshold as other private employers, and contractors with 50 to 99 employees that filed before were no longer required to file under this framework.

The EEOC’s data page lists Section 709(c) of Title VII, 29 C.F.R. 1602.7 through 1602.14, Executive Order 11246 and 41 C.F.R. 60-1.7(a) as its authorities for the Component 1 report.

Cooley’s summary also lists separate EEO reports that certain labor unions, state and local governments and school systems must file. The proposal would eliminate those reports as well.

Who Must File
The EEOC says private-sector employers with 100 or more employees must file the EEO-1 Component 1 report each year.

What the Report Counts

The report collects workforce demographic data by job category, sex, and race or ethnicity, and it is submitted to the EEOC. DirectEmployers lists the employee-level fields as EEO-1 job category, race and ethnicity, sex, and establishment information.

Cooley reports that in 2025 the administration eliminated optional reporting of nonbinary employee data, following Executive Order 14168 of January 20, 2025.

The EEOC’s data page lists the 2024 collection as closed. It says updates on the 2025 collection will be posted when they become available.

DirectEmployers says contractors should keep collecting workforce demographic data, because Uniform Guidelines recordkeeping obligations and potential state law requirements remain even if the EEO-1 is eliminated.

What the May 2026 Proposal Would End

The proposed rule would rescind the EEO-1 through EEO-5 reports and the related reporting requirements under Title VII, the ADA, GINA and the PWFA, according to Cooley. If finalized, it could eliminate the annual EEO-1 workforce demographic filing.

The EEOC’s data page describes the other reports covered. EEO-3 is filed by local referral unions with 100 or more members, every two years, on EEOC Form 274. EEO-4 is filed by all state and local governments with 100 or more employees, every two years, on Form 164. EEO-5 is filed by public elementary and secondary school systems and districts with 100 or more employees, every two years, on Form 168A.

Collection status varies. The EEOC’s data page lists the 2023 EEO-4 collection as closed, and lists the 2024 collections for EEO-3 and EEO-5 as delayed, with updates to be posted when available.

DirectEmployers ties the May submission to reported pressure from White House Budget Director Russell Vought, who raised concerns that EEOC reporting practices conflicted with executive orders on ending DEI programs and on recognizing only biological sex in federal data collection.

DirectEmployers says the proposal would not change OFCCP audit authority, Title VII recordkeeping, the recordkeeping required under the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures, or historical EEO-1 records. It also says state reporting obligations stand until they are changed.

DirectEmployers notes that Kenneth J. Wolfe was named OFCCP’s third director in just over a year, and that proposed changes to self-identification forms under Section 503 and VEVRAA are pending.

State rules are separate. DirectEmployers says California, Illinois and Massachusetts have independent requirements, and that, as of May 19, Massachusetts law required employers to submit their most recent EEO-1 report. That law may change if federal reporting ends.

Cooley notes that Project 2025 had recommended rescinding the collection. The Project 2025 policy playbook also criticized race and ethnicity categories as failing to reflect the diversity of the American workforce.

How the Data Is Used and Kept

DirectEmployers says the EEOC has shown a willingness to use workforce composition data, including EEO-1 data already on file, in investigating alleged discriminatory employment practices, including unlawful DEI programs, as reported in March 2026.

DirectEmployers also says the Uniform Guidelines require employers to keep demographic data sufficient to assess disparate impact, and that stopping demographic collection at hire would create significant legal exposure.

Cooley reports that EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas has warned employers that they may not use EEO-1 data to justify treating employees differently based on race, sex or other protected characteristics.

As of May 19, 2026, the EEOC had not opened a 2026 filing portal, announced a deadline or published an instruction booklet.

How Review and Comment Would Work

Cooley says OIRA has up to 90 days to review a proposed rule under Executive Order 12866, and that the period may be extended. DirectEmployers estimated that the window would end about mid-August 2026.

After review, the proposal will be published in the Federal Register for public comment. DirectEmployers says a 60-day comment period would follow publication, and that a final rule could take effect only after that period ends.

DirectEmployers said that, to relieve the 2026 obligation, the full process would need to finish well before September 30. It cites a 2019 federal court order that required the EEOC to proceed with the Component 2 pay data collection, after the first Trump administration tried to discontinue it, and says a similar legal challenge is possible if rulemaking is bypassed.

DirectEmployers also says Congress could overturn a final rule under the Congressional Review Act, but calls that unlikely given a presidential veto and the high override threshold.

If federal reporting ends, states may impose their own workforce demographic requirements, Cooley says, which could create a patchwork for multistate employers. DirectEmployers says other states may act to fill any gap.

What the 2026 Filing Calendar Shows

DirectEmployers reported that, as of May 19, 2026, 29 C.F.R. Part 1602 required the EEO-1 filing by September 30 each year.

As of May 19, 2026, the EEOC had not opened a 2026 filing portal, announced a deadline or published an instruction booklet. DirectEmployers notes that last year those steps were already underway at that point, and says that proceeding with the 2025 data collection cycle (the 2026 filing) would need a proposed instruction booklet and portal, neither of which had appeared.

DirectEmployers advises employers to keep preparing as if the filing will proceed, using employee-level data from a pay period in October, November or December 2025.

Cooley describes the proposal as an early step in a longer process, and advises covered employers to keep preparing for the next EEO-1 filing cycle while monitoring the proposal.

DirectEmployers points to OIRA Action ID 1382263 on reginfo.gov as the place to track the review. No 2026 portal, deadline or final rule had been announced as of May 19.