EEO-1 Reporting May Be Ending — But Employers Should Not Assume It Is Gone Yet
Reading Time: 2 minutes - The EEOC reportedly sent a proposal on May 14, 2026 to begin rescinding EEO-1 Component 1 reporting, but the requirement has not been rescinded yet.
- EEO-1 Component 1 generally applies to private employers with 100 or more employees and certain federal contractors with 50 or more.
- No opening date or deadline is listed yet for the 2025 collection, so employers should keep preparing as though a filing window could still open.
- Keep your demographic tracking process in place, check state reporting obligations separately, and watch the EEOC data collections page for the official answer.
- Even if the report is eventually eliminated, the underlying obligation to avoid discrimination and understand your workforce data does not change.
There is a lot of noise right now about whether EEO-1 reporting is going away. The Trump administration is pushing to eliminate the EEO-1 Component 1 report — the annual EEOC filing that requires covered employers to report workforce demographics by race, ethnicity, sex, and job category. The stated rationale is reducing employer burden and pulling back from DEI-related reporting requirements.
But here is the part that matters for employers right now: the requirement has not been rescinded yet. The EEOC says the 2024 EEO-1 Component 1 collection is closed and that updates on the 2025 collection will be posted as they become available. The agency also reportedly sent a proposal on May 14, 2026, to begin the process of rescinding EEO-1 reporting — but that is still just a proposal. For now, employers should treat the filing obligation as still in place until the EEOC says otherwise.
What is the EEO-1 report, and who has to file?
The EEO-1 Component 1 report is an annual workforce demographic filing. In general, it applies to private employers with 100 or more employees and to certain federal contractors with 50 or more employees. The report captures workforce data by race, ethnicity, sex, and job category, and the EEOC has used it for decades as one tool to help identify possible discrimination patterns.
As of now, the EEOC data collections page does not list an opening date or filing deadline for the 2025 EEO-1 Component 1 collection. That uncertainty is real, but it is not the same thing as the requirement being gone. Until there is an official announcement from the EEOC, employers should continue preparing as though a filing window could still open.
What should employers watch?
A proposed rescission still has to move through the rulemaking process, and legal challenges are very possible. That means timing is uncertain, and there is still a real chance employers will need to file before anything changes. State reporting obligations are also a separate issue and would not automatically go away if the federal requirement is eventually rescinded.
Bottom line: this is a developing issue, not a done deal.
What should employers do right now?
- Keep preparing to file. Unless and until the EEOC formally changes the requirement, the safer approach is to treat it as active.
- Do not dismantle your tracking process. If the filing window opens with little notice, you will want your data ready.
- Check any state-specific reporting obligations separately. Federal changes would not automatically change state requirements.
- Give leadership a calm update. This is one to monitor, not one to overreact to.
- Watch the EEOC data collections page for the official answer.
Even if EEO-1 reporting is eventually eliminated, that only changes one compliance process. It does not change an employer’s underlying obligation to avoid discrimination, make sound employment decisions, and understand its workforce data well enough to respond when questions come up.
Catapult is an employers association that has helped organizations solve workplace challenges since 1958. More than 2,300 member employers rely on the Catapult team for HR advice, employment law guidance, compensation research, and leadership training. Articles published under the Catapult HR Team byline are written and fact checked by that team.
