The new EEO-1 filing portal opened April 26th; however, as previously announced, the data upload filing option has been delayed until “late May”. Per EEOC notifications emailed to employers late last week, the data upload option will be available starting May 26, 2021. This announcement has not yet been made on the EEO-1 or EEOC websites.
Per the notification, the publication of the EEO-1 file specifications will not occur until this date as well, which will further delay employer preparations for those that choose the upload option. As a reminder, any changes to filing specifications from the 2018 filing likely will require company software or system updates prior to employers finalizing the upload file.
Presently, employers have the option of completing the online form option which requires manual data entry for each establishment, although we believe most multi-establishment employers utilize the data upload option. The deadline to submit both the 2019 and 2020 EEO-1 filings continues to be July 19th, 2021.
Instruction Booklet
Although file specifications, as well as a filing site user guide, are not yet available, the EEOC has provided several resources to aid employers in moving forward with filings. On April 26th, 2021, the EEOC released an instruction booklet providing general guidance for this year’s EEO-1 filings coinciding with the opening of the first phase of the EEO-1 submission portal. The instruction booklet is located on the EEO-1 website within the ‘How to Submit’ section, in addition to other reference documents, and is broken out into 8 parts providing basic information and frequently asked questions on what is needed for successful filing. Most notably, the instruction booklet includes:
- Terms used in EEO-1 filings and their definitions. For example, acceptable EEO-1 report types are identified, and employment and occupational data requirements are clarified. These general terms appear to be unchanged from the prior year’s instruction booklet.
- Summarized Information on who is required to file, how one can file, and when one can file as well as information regarding report confidentiality, special procedure requests such as applying for a filing exemption with the EEOC, and burden estimates.
- Six appendices providing further definitions pertaining to all employers and E.O. 11246 federal contractors, contractor responsibilities, race, sex, and ethnicity identification guidance, job category descriptions, and lastly, the legal basis for these EEO-1 requirements.
The instruction booklet in its entirety can be accessed by clicking here.
Company Account
Employers are also now able to create and access their company account. Within the new portal, after creating an account, employers will have access to historical filings dating back to 2015, as well as an Excel output of establishment information (e.g., unit numbers) from the 2018 filing. Additionally, the portal provides the ability for multiple individuals to be included as a company point of contact, with an option allowing for the identification of the primary contact and/or certifying official. We encourage employers to create an account and log in as soon as they are able, even if waiting to file through the data upload option.
DCI will be continually monitoring the EEO-1 website for updates and additional resources, as the filing period progresses.
By Benjamin Kerner, M.A., HR Analyst and Amanda Bowman, M.S., Associate Principal Consultant
