The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs has announced it is conducting an internal review to identify necessary changes to the regulations implementing Executive Order 11246 as a result of revisions to the EEO-1 form. These changes will coordinate OFCCP’s data collection and reporting requirements with the new EEO-1 report to avoid imposing inconsistent burdens on federal contractors.
Any changes to OFCCP’s data collection and reporting requirements to incorporate these revisions will be published in the Federal Register for public comment. OFCCP has also said it will provide a “reasonable transition period” before any regulatory changes become effective.
Key changes to the EEO-1 report include revisions to the race and ethnic categories. A new category titled “two or more races” has been added, and the category “Asian or Pacific Islander” has been divided into two separate categories – “Asian” and “Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islanders.”
In addition, the approved revisions to the EEO-1 report include more job categories as a result of dividing the Officials and Managers category into two subgroups – Executives/Senior Level and First/Mid Level Officials.
Changes to the EEO-1 report, which were approved by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Office of Management and Budget, go into effect in 2007. Employers will continue to use the existing EEO-1 format for calendar year 2006.
In the meantime, DCI recommends its clients “sit tight” and not use the new categories for affirmative action compliance purposes until the OFCCP issues its final regulatory changes. DCI will issue a client alert as soon as OFCCP releases its proposed changes.