EEO Job Category

EEO Job Categories At A Glance

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) just approved a new version of the EEO-1 employer report - the first major revision to this form in 40 years. Various changes to the form will affect how you classify managers and supervisors and categorize the race and ethnicity of employees before your next report is due in September 2007.

What’s changed now about the ways you can collect race-related data from your workers? Are you ready to comply with the EEO-1 confidentiality requirements? How does the new form affect your affirmative action obligations? What steps does the law require you to take to insure the accuracy of your report? And, how soon should you get started on your 2007 filing?

The EEO-1 Report at a Glance

The Employer Information Report (EEO-1) classifies an organization’s employees by job category and then by ethnicity, race, and gender. Due every September, the EEO-1 is submitted to the EEOC and the Department of Labor, Office of Federal Contractor Compliance Programs (OFCCP). Beginning September 30, 2007, employers must use the newly revised EEO-1 Report. Since next September’s report will likely be comprised of data collected this year, organizations must collect information per the new classification format prior to 2007.

What Changes Have Been Made to the EEO-1?

The race/ethnicity categories and job classifications of the EEO-1 Report were revised to reflect a new demographic analysis of an organization’s workforce. Job categories were updated to help identify trends in mobility of minorities and women.

Race and Ethnicity Changes

Adding a new category called “Two or more races”;

Revising the “Asian and Pacific Islanders” category to two separate categories called “Asian” and “Native

Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander”;

Renaming the “Black” category to “Black or African American”;

Renaming the “Hispanic” category to “Hispanic or Latino”;

Strongly endorsing employee self-identification of race and ethnicity, as opposed to visual identification by employers

Note: Organizations may choose to re-identify current employees, though the EEOC does not require employers to do so.

Job Categorization Changes

The current EEO-1 Report includes nine job categories: Officials and Managers, Professionals, Technicians, Sales, Official and Clerical, Craft Workers (Skilled), Operative (Semiskilled), Laborers (Unskilled), and Service Workers. The revised report will split the Officials and Managers category into two separate classifications based on responsibility and influence within the organization. The two new levels stemming from this category are Executive/Senior Level Officials and Managers and First/Mid-Level Officials and Managers. The revised report also moves business and financial positions from the Officials and Managers category to the Professionals category.

Why is this Information Collected?

The data collected in the EEO-1 Report is used by the EEOC and the OFCCP for two main purposes. The EEOC analyzes the information to determine how particular organizations, industries, or regions are performing in terms of equal employment. The OFCCP uses the data within the reports to select employer facilities for compliance evaluations. By analyzing the EEO-1 data, the OFCCP can establish which facilities are likely to discriminate.

Which Organizations are Required to Submit the EEO-1?

The EEO-1 Report must be submitted by all organizations with 100+ employees and by federal contractors and subcontractors with 50+ employees and government contracts of $50,000 or more. Additionally, the Department of Labor recognizes banks and other financial institutions as government contractors. Consequently, all banks and financial institutions with 50+ employees must have an Affirmative Action Plan and are required to submit the EEO-1 Report. Note: Multiple EEO-1 Reports may be required of organizations with multiple locations and/or a separate corporate headquarters. See http://www.eeoc.gov/eeo1survey/howtofile.html/ for details. For more information on the EEOC’s revisions to the Employer Information Report, visit http://www.eeoc.gov/eeo1survey/

How Do We Return the Completed EEO-1 Report?

The EEO-1 Joint Reporting Commission prefers online submission of the report through their Web portal. The online filing system can be accessed here: http://www.eeoc.gov/eeo1survey/.