In line with its continued focus on identifying pay disparities in the workplace, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has made notice they are considering an amendment to their current regulations1 that would include an employer-required pay survey. This notice was published in the Fall 2019 Unified Agenda2, a semi-annual publication compiled by the Regulatory Information Service Center, with regulation oversight from the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA).
EEOC formally introduced their consideration of a new reporting obligation that would require employers to submit pay data for the enforcement of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Pay Act. EEOC has not provided specifics yet as to what data would be required of employers in the pay collection. However, EEOC referenced a need for the agency to revisit recommendations provided by the National Academy of Science (NAS) report from 2012, as well as localities and states that are currently collecting employer pay data. The proposed amendment is forecasted to be published in the Federal Register in September of 2020, and will be presented as an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rule Making (ANPRM). An ANPRM requires the opportunity for public review and comment on the proposed rule’s benefits, burden, collection method, and propose alternate methods. To identify and follow EEOC’s progress on their proposed pay survey, its entry into the Unified Agenda provides the following Regulation Identification Number (RIN): 3046-AB15.
Other agencies of note included in the Unified Agenda is the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) under the Department of Labor (DOL). OFCCP published the following regulations that will be a focus for the agency next year:
By Marcelle Clavette, Consultant, and Lily Kerr, HR Analyst at DCI Consulting Group
2The Unified Agenda is a formal publication which agencies utilize to provide changes in upcoming regulatory action in the form of Advance Notice of Proposed Rule Making (ANPRM), Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM), or a Final Rule – this future orientation is typically forecasted for submission of an ANPRM or NPRM into the Federal Register within the next 12 months. Publication in the Unified Agenda has been reserved for agency action that “may have a significant impact on a substantial number of small entities”