EEOC Votes 2-1 To End 60-Year Employer Demographic Reporting Requirement, Prompting Civil‑Rights Outcry

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), under a Republican majority, voted 2-1 to eliminate a six-decade-old requirement that many employers file annual demographic workforce reports known as the EEO-1. The proposal now enters a 30-day public comment period before the agency can move to finalize the change.

What the EEO-1 Rule Does

Since 1966, employers with 100 or more workers — and federal contractors with 50 or more — have been required to submit an EEO-1 form each year. The form collects counts of male and female employees across 10 broad job categories and totals for workers by race and ethnicity. Advocates say the data provide a public, consistent baseline for measuring workplace diversity and detecting patterns of discrimination.

Agency Rationale

In the proposal, the EEOC argued the EEO-1 data are "unnecessary to enforce anti-discrimination laws" and that their "marginal benefits are outweighed by the substantial burdens imposed" on employers and the agency. The Commission also warned that mandatory collection could unintentionally encourage race- or sex-based decisions to correct perceived statistical imbalances and said its investigative authority remains a "more reliable, narrowly tailored, and cost-effective" enforcement tool.

"It may promote racial stereotyping at work, and it may encourage employers to engage in discrimination," EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas said at a hearing prior to the vote.

Dissent, Lawmakers, And Civil-Rights Reaction

Commissioner Kalpana Kotagal, the EEOC's lone Democratic member, cast the sole dissenting vote and warned the move would "kneecap" the agency's ability to protect workers and risk a return to a period before many civil‑rights advances.

Civil-rights organizations strongly criticized the vote. Deborah Vagins of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights said, "If you cannot measure problems, you cannot address them," arguing that ending the data collection makes discrimination harder to detect and prove. The National Women's Law Center called the move an "attack on civil rights," warning enforcement priorities could become politically driven rather than evidence-based.

Earlier this year the EEOC did not announce the opening of the 2026 demographic data-collection cycle and submitted a draft proposal to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) seeking to rescind the EEO-1 requirement. Ten Democrats led by Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester and Rep. Jerrold Nadler wrote to Chair Lucas urging the agency to continue timely, transparent collections, calling EEO-1 data "critical to enforcing our nation's civil rights laws."

Context And Statutory Enforcement

Supporters of the change cite burdens on employers and on the agency's resources. Opponents say the lack of consistent, public workforce data will limit researchers, regulators, advocates and lawmakers from identifying disparities in hiring, promotion and pay.

According to the EEOC, the agency processed more than 88,000 discrimination charges in fiscal year 2025 and resolved over 90,000 matters, securing roughly $660 million for more than 17,000 claimants. The agency also estimates it has recovered over $11 billion for victims of workplace discrimination since the passage of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

What Comes Next

The 30-day public comment period will allow employers, advocacy groups, unions, researchers and members of the public to weigh in before the agency finalizes any change. If finalized, the decision could reshape how workforce demographic information is collected, publicly reported and used in enforcement and corporate accountability efforts.

Key takeaway: The EEOC's vote marks a significant policy shift with immediate procedural steps and potential long-term consequences for how workplace disparities are measured and addressed.