Library Worklife

Volume 3, No. 12 • December 2006

HR Law & Regulation

The New EEO-1

By Dorothy Ragsdale

Effective September 2007, certain employers and federal contractors are required to submit an EEO-1 report on annual basis. Employers with 100 or more workers, and federal contractors with 50 or more employees and $50,000 or more in government contracts, will submit the report to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission each September. The EEO-1 is a snapshot of the workforce at a point in time.

The EEO amended its form for the first time in 39 years. These changes were implemented to reflect demographic changes in society. The EEO expanded its ethnic classifications from seven to nine. The following classifications were amended:

“Black” renamed “black or African American”
“Asian or Pacific Islander” divided into “Asian” and “Pacific Islander”
“Hispanic” renamed “Hispanic or Latino”
Added designation of “two or more races”

The revised form also includes changes in job categories. The agency divided the “official and managers” category into two categories, executive/senior level and first/mid-level officials and managers. The revision allows analysis of the advancement of women and minorities into the management ranks.

These changes will require employers to modify the data that they collect on their workforce. In anticipation of the new reporting requirements, many employers are accumulating voluntary affirmative action data in order to populate their human resource information system. Organizations should work with their Information Technology departments, payroll providers and other internal units that may utilize this information in anticipation of the September 2007 deadline.

Dorothy Ragsdale is Director of Human Resources at the American Library Association.

We would love to have your feedback on this article!