EEOC continues to collect 2017 and 2018 Component 2 filings, as well provide support and outreach to employers, after previously being denied a motion to close the portal in November. This week, EEOC submitted a motion to again request closure of the 2017 and 2018 filing portal. EEOC reports that, as of December 18, 2019, 85.6% of eligible filers have now submitted Component 2 data, which now exceeds Dr. Haffer’s estimate for the percentage of employers that file in a typical year, inclusive of an extension period. EEOC believes they have satisfied the Court’s April 25th Order and the collection should be considered complete.
In the motion, EEOC cites concerns of burden to keep the portal open, including costs with vendor NORC beyond the expected contract timeline. EEOC incurs additional contract costs of approximately $150,000 per week. As reported last week in EEOC’s latest update to the court, as obligated to do so every 21 days, NORC continues to complete outreach and technical assistance on behalf of EEOC, including: (1) staff the Component 2 HelpDesk for extended hours and (2) place calls to the 2,600 employers that completed a filing for either 2017 or 2018, but not both. We also know these employers were contacted via email earlier this fall. In our experience, there have been legitimate reasons why employers were not able to file for both, or in some cases either, years; typically this is the result of an acquisition, merger, or spin-off.
In the motion, EEOC requests that, if the motion is denied again, the Court specify the response rate at which they will deem the Component 2 data collection complete. As, currently, it remains unclear at what point the collection will be deemed complete. Stay tuned for updates.
By Amanda Bowman, Associate Principal Consultant at DCI Consulting Group
