Federal Contractors, Heads Up! New Audits, New Burdens, Less Time to Comply

On August 25, 2023, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) issued an Office of Management and Budget-approved, revised Supply and Service Scheduling Letter and Itemized Listing, which is effective through August 31, 2026. OFCCP also issued a new round of Corporate Scheduling Announcement Letters for 1,000 federal contractors two weeks later on September 8, 2023.

California to Consider Requests to Defer Compliance With Labor Contractor Pay Data Reporting Obligations

On April 14, 2023, the California Civil Rights Department (CRD) announced that it will consider providing employers two-month extensions on the upcoming May 10, 2023, deadline to comply with the state’s new pay data reporting obligations regarding workers supplied by labor contractors.

New California Pay Data Reporting Obligations Raise New Issues for Private Colleges, Labor Contractors

The California Civil Rights Department (CRD) recently issued new guidance confirming that private colleges and universities and labor contractors are subject to the newly expanded pay data reporting obligations added as part of the state’s pay transparency law, Senate Bill (SB) 1162, enacted in September 2022. The state has set up an online portal to submit 2022 pay data reports, which are due on May 10, 2023.

California’s New Pay Transparency Law: Pay Data Reporting Obligation Changes for 2023

California recently enacted a landmark pay transparency law that requires employers to disclose pay ranges in job postings, joining a growing number of states and municipalities that impose such requirements aimed at improving pay equity. But beyond the pay scale requirements, Senate Bill (SB) 1162, signed in September 2022 by Governor Gavin Newsom, further broke new ground in expanding pay data reporting processes and requirements for California employers, and thus increasing employers’ compliance burden.

EEO-1 Filing Platform Set to Open on April 12 With Abbreviated Filing Deadline of May 17: What’s the Rush?

Though the 2021 EEO-1 landing page labels the opening and closing dates for the 2021 EEO-1 filing cycle as “tentative,” the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has notified prior filers that the 2021 filing platform will “officially open” on April 12, 2022, and close on May 17, 2022.

Illinois Equal Pay Act Requirements: Implementation Rules Still Pending as Rolling Registration Deadlines Approach

We had been holding off on publishing an update on the Illinois Equal Pay Act requirements in hopes that the State of Illinois would publish its proposed rules implementing the law. Those rules have not yet come. Accordingly, we are publishing this interim update. When the state announces its rules, we will issue further information.

EEOC Makes Major Revisions to 2021 EEO-1 Filing Procedures for Third-Party Human Resource Organizations

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently announced its effort to modernize the agency’s EEO data collection by revising the procedures for professional employer organizations (PEOs), administrative services organizations (ASOs), human resource outsourcing organizations (HROs), and other similar organizations (“third-party human resource organizations”) to file EEO-1 Component 1 on behalf of a “client employer” or “client company.”

California Posts Updated Reference Materials and FAQs for Filing 2021 Pay Data Reports

The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) posted updates to its California Pay Data Reporting Portal User Guide and California Pay Data Reporting: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) guidance for the 2021 reporting year on its pay data reporting landing page on January 31, 2022. The DFEH has set the deadline for filing 2021 pay data reports as April 1, 2022.

California Announces New Deadline for Filing 2021 Pay Data Reports and Promises Updated Reference Materials

The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) recently posted an announcement on its pay data reporting landing page stating the deadline for filing 2021 pay data reports is April 1, 2022. This is different from last year’s deadline of March 31, 2021, and earlier statements by the DFEH indicating that the filing deadline would be March 31 going forward after last year’s inaugural filing cycle. The announcement also provides notice that new versions of the filing portal, user guide, and template (a spreadsheet document including a blank pay data upload report, instructions, and two sample reports), and other resources will be available on February 1, 2022.

EEOC Tentatively Sets Significantly Shortened 2021 EEO-1 Filing Season

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently posted information on the EEO-1 landing page stating that the 2021 EEO-1 filing platform is tentatively scheduled to open on April 12, 2022, with the filing deadline tentatively set for May 17, 2022. This approximately four-week filing period is significantly shorter than the length of time provided for recent EEO-1 filing periods.

EEOC Extends Filing Deadline for EEO-1 Reports to October 25, 2021

On August 18, 2021, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced that the prior August 23, 2021, EEO-1 filing deadline for the 2019 and 2020 EEO-1 reports has been moved to October 25, 2021. The EEOC cited the “continuing impact of the pandemic on business operations” as the justification for this two-month extension of the earlier deadline.

EEO-1 Filing Platform: More Changes for Acquisitions, Spinoffs, and Mergers

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently announced that it is loosening the requirement on companies to provide notice to the federal agency of acquisitions, mergers, and spinoffs. By way of background, in addition to requiring the submission and certification of two years of EEO-1 reports, the EEOC had created a new filing platform for the 2019 and 2020 EEO-1 filings, which are due by August 23, 2021. The transition to the new platform and the requirement to file two years of EEO-1 reports has resulted in a rocky EEO-1 filing cycle. As a continued sign of these difficulties, the EEOC implemented a major change to the procedure for handling mergers, acquisitions, and spinoffs for EEO-1 reporting.

EEOC Extends Deadline to File EEO-1 Reports to August 23, 2021

On June 28, 2021, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced that it is extending the July 19, 2021, deadline to submit and certify 2019 and 2020 EEO-1 Component 1 reports to Monday, August 23, 2021. The EEOC still “encourage[s] eligible employers to file the required EEO-1 Component 1 report(s) as soon as possible.

2019 and 2020 EEO-1 Component 1 Filing Site Is Now Open

After the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) delayed the collection of 2019 EEO-1 Component 1 data, April 26, 2021, now marks the opening of the 2019 and 2020 EEO-1 Component 1 filing site. The EEOC had extended the data collection period from the usual 10 weeks to 12 weeks, resulting in a July 19, 2021, filing deadline.

California Employers Can Seek One-Month Extension for Reporting 2020 Pay Data, State Agency Says

On February 3, 2021, the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) updated its frequently asked questions (FAQs) to make clear that employers can seek an extension for reporting year 2020—known as a request for an “enforcement deferral period”—as to its newly enacted pay data reporting requirement that reports are otherwise due on March 31, 2021.

California Pay Data Reporting: New Web Page and 10 FAQs for Employers That Report to the DFEH

On September 30, 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law a pay data reporting requirement for employers that assigns responsibility for collecting such data to the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH). To assist employers with this filing requirement, the DFEH recently established a web page and published answers to a a series of frequently asked questions (FAQs) that address several topics related to the upcoming filings, which are due no later than March 31, 2021.

EEO-1 Filers Must Wait a Little Longer—EEOC Announces Filing Platform Will Not Open Until April 2021

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued a press release on January 12, 2021, notifying EEO-1 filers that the EEO-1 filing platform will not open until April 2021. This is of particular interest for employers because the EEOC delayed the 2019 EEO-1 filings, which would normally have been due in March 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic—meaning that both the 2019 and 2020 EEO-1 filings will be due this year.

OFCCP’s Fiscal Year 2020 Non-Financial Conciliation Agreements: A Review of the Past to Prepare for the Present and Future

Federal contractors and subcontractors have numerous affirmative action obligations and only so much time each day to devote to compliance. As a result, some requirements may tend to fall by the wayside as contractors focus on the more critical issues of ensuring equal employment opportunities in matters such as hiring, promotions, and pay. Even the smallest of the technical regulatory obligations, however, are important and serve a purpose—and, in fact, they can significantly enhance contractors’ affirmative action efforts by requiring regular, critical review and analysis of personnel practices.

New California Pay Data Collection Law Establishes March 31 Reporting Deadline

On September 30, 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed California Senate Bill 973 into law as Government Code Title 2, Division 3, Part 2.8, Chapter 10, § 12999. The bill authored by Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson (Santa Barbara) is titled “Employers: annual report: pay data,” and it states that while “progress [has been] made in California in recent years to strengthen California’s equal pay laws,” there is still a significant gender pay gap and for women of color that pay gap is greater. To address these pay issues, the California Government Code’s new section 12999 requires pay data reports from covered employers and delegates additional powers to the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing relating to the new pay data reporting requirement. Section 12999 requires covered employers to file pay data reports no later than March 31, 2021, and on or before every March 31 thereafter.