What is EEO-1 reporting, and how do you file a report?

As your company grows, so do the responsibilities—like filing an EEO-1 report. This is mandatory for employers with 100 or more employees, or federal contractors with 50 or more employees.

Enforced by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the EEO-1 report is a survey with a breakdown of your employee data by criteria like race, ethnicity, gender, and job sector. If you fall into the category of companies legally required to file the EEO-1 form, you must do so annually or risk fines and other potential legal consequences.

In this article, we’ll help you assess if you need to submit EEO-1 reports and explain how to fill them out correctly—step by step. We’ll also answer some of the most common questions about employment opportunity reports. Let’s dive in…

What is EEO-1 reporting?

EEO-1, also known as “Standard Form 100” or “EEO-1 component 1 report”, is an employment information report submitted annually by employers to the EEOC, a federal government agency. It breaks down each organization’s workforce in terms of race, gender/ethnicity, and job type. The EEOC gathers EEO-1 filings to prepare a report on fair treatment for workers, regardless of their origin, how they identify, and any physical or mental disabilities. 

EEO-1 reporting is obligatory if you’re an employer or federal contractor and meet the following criteria:

• You’re an employer and have 100 or more employees. 
• You’re a federal contractor, have a headcount of 50 or more employees, and have a federal contract/subcontract/purchase order value exceeding $50,000.
• You have first-tier subcontractor or prime contractor status.
• You employ more than 50 workers and serve either as a US Saving Bonds paying agent or act as a depository of government funds (regardless of the amount). 

Why do you need to fill out the EEO-1 report?

All companies that meet the EEOC criteria discussed above are legally obliged to submit an EEO-1 report; it’s not voluntary. Its main purpose is to gather employee data on diversity, enabling the EEOC to check if there are any cases of employment discrimination in the workplace. Even though the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission doesn’t demand businesses to have a specific employee configuration, they expect them to recruit and operate fairly. 

The EEO-1 report is also used for research and self-assessment purposes. It gives a good overview of employment demographics in the US and helps spot recruitment trends regarding gender, race, ethnicity, and job category. Additionally, EEO-1 reports help employers identify harmful workplace practices, such as favoring men in senior positions. By using findings from the report, employers can strive to create a more diverse culture that benefits the employees and the business. 

When is EEO-1 reporting due?

As of August 2023, the filing period for EEO-1 reporting has been postponed to fall of 2023. However, the exact start date hasn’t been established yet.

According to the EEOC website, the reason for pushing the deadline further in time is that the committee is undergoing “a mandatory, three-year renewal of the EEO-1 Component 1 data collection by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA)”. 

The EEO-1 reporting opening dates will be announced on the EEOC website.  

Those who fail to submit their EEO-1 reports within the deadline may apply to the EEOC for an official one-time request of an additional 30 days.

Step by step: Filing your EEO-1 report

Step 1: Register as a first-time filer

Before filling out the Standard Form 100 report, you’ll need to obtain a login ID and a password. To do that, you’ll have to complete this form to register for a first-time submission. Filling it out is a way to obtain your credentials and check if you’re required to register as a first-time filer. 

Be sure to complete the form in advance, as setting up a process for collecting the necessary EEO-1 data takes time, and so does completing the Standard Form 100. 

Step 2: Collect the data for your EEO-1 report

As an employer, you need to ask your staff (full-time and part-time workers, as well as apprentices and trainees) to declare how they identify in terms of gender, ethnicity, nationality, and race. This is best done by sending a survey. If an employee denies information or refuses to identify themselves, you have the right to complete the information on their behalf. 

Whenever possible, you should base any information you supplement for staff members on your internal documents. On top of information gathered from workers, you must also look into the workforce data held in your human resource information systems (HRIS) and W-2 employee forms. Among others, you need to provide the job function category and information on pay. We outline all the EEO-1 report sections in the next step.

If you operate multiple offices or branches, it’s up to the parent company or headquarters to gather data for the entire workforce.

Bear in mind that EEO-1 reports relate to your employees only—you don’t fill out any information for job candidates.

Step 3: Prepare and submit the EEO-1 report

Once the filing period for 2022 EEO-1 report submissions is opened, you’ll be able to submit your report. Before completing the paperwork, make sure you’ve properly assigned each employee to the right race/ethnicity, gender, and job type. Bear in mind that you can only assign them to one category. 

As mentioned in Step 1, you can submit the report through the EEOC website or through other authorized methods. 

The EEO-1 report features two pages. The first page is relatively easy to complete and features three sections:

• Section A, where you declare if you’re submitting the report as an employer with a single establishment or multiple physical offices. If you belong to the latter, you’ll need to fill out a separate report for each location and mention the total number of reports here.
• Section B, where you submit your company data—company name, address, Employer Identification Number (EIN), and whether you’ve submitted EEO-1 reports for the year before.
• Section C, where you need to tick three “yes” or “no” boxes. If your answer is “yes” to any of the questions, then you need to fill out the remaining sections of the document.

The next page features:

• Section D, which is a chart where you fill out most of the demographic and firmographic information required by the EEOC. Here’s where you declare:
  • Your total number of employees
  • Job categories
  • How many employees have declared themselves for each race/ethnicity
• Section E, where you mention your company’s primary line of business.
• Section F, which is a “remarks” section where you can add commentary on any significant changes from the year prior (for example, a 25% drop in headcount due to the economic crisis). 
• Section G, where you declare you’ve filled out all the information to the best of your knowledge, submit your name and surname, and sign the form.

If you’re submitting the EEO-1 report online, make sure to click the “verify report” button—otherwise, it won’t be filed.

Here's a sample EEO-1 report from the EEOC website you can take a look at.

Step 4: Track changes in EEO-1 reporting requirements

It’s vital to be aware of the changes regarding the required EEO-1 data and the process of completing the report. This includes expanding on the number of categories you must report on or changing the submission deadlines. 

Be sure to stay on top of the EEOC’s decisions. If your report is incomplete or inaccurate, you could be subject to fines, termination of federal contracts for contractors, and a potential ban from entering into future agreements.

Reporting requirements

According to the EEO-1 report, employees are placed in the following job classification categories: 

• 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
• Service workers

On top of the categories mentioned above, employers must all categorize employees based on their ethnicity and race. As of 2023, these are: 

• White (not Hispanic or Latino)
• Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander 
• American Indian or Native Alaskan 
• Asian 
• Hispanic or Latino
• Black or African American 

In order to avoid employee misclassification, you need to have a firm understanding of the EEO-1 categories. In case of any uncertainties, visit the EEOC website.