EEOC Ends 60-Year Employer Demographic Data Rule in 2-1 Vote
Updated
Updated · Democracy Now! · Jul 22
EEOC Ends 60-Year Employer Demographic Data Rule in 2-1 Vote
3 articles · Updated · Democracy Now! · Jul 22
Summary
A 2-1 vote by the EEOC's Republican majority rescinded a requirement that private-sector employers collect workplace demographic data, ending a policy that had stood for more than 60 years.
Andrea Lucas, the agency's chair and a Trump ally who has criticized DEI policies, backed the rollback at the civil-rights agency charged with enforcing anti-discrimination law.
Kalpana Kotagal, the EEOC's sole remaining Democrat after Trump's overhaul of the commission, said the move would "turn back time" and weaken the agency's ability to protect workers.
The change marks a sharp shift for an agency created under the 1964 Civil Rights Act to police discrimination based on race, sex, national origin and religion.
Without federal oversight data, how can workers now prove systemic workplace discrimination exists?
As federal diversity reporting ends, will a patchwork of state laws create new compliance burdens for employers?
Could new technology track workplace fairness better than the 60-year-old government report?
The End of EEO-1? EEOC’s 2026 Proposal to Rescind Federal Workforce Reporting and Its Far-Reaching Consequences
Overview
On July 21, 2026, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) voted to issue a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that aims to eliminate long-standing federal EEO reporting requirements. This proposal targets the rescission of routine reporting obligations that have existed for about 60 years, signaling a major shift in how employers provide workforce data to the government. After the NPRM is issued, a public comment period will allow employers, advocacy groups, and the public to give feedback on the changes. This marks the beginning of a significant reevaluation of the value and burden of these historical mandates.