Message from EEOC Acting Chair Lucas about Opening of 2024 EEO-1 Component 1 Data Collection

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced the opening today of the 2024 EEO-1 Component 1 data collection. In a message to EEO-1 Component 1 filers, EEOC Acting Chair Andrea Lucas reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to protecting the civil rights of all Americans, advancing individual equal opportunity for all, and relentlessly combatting private sector and public sector discrimination.

Message from EEOC Acting Chair Andrea Lucas

Current EEOC regulations require covered entities to annually report on the sex and race or ethnicity of their employees via the EEO-1 Component 1 data collection process. The EEOC, together with other federal civil rights law enforcement agencies, is committed to preventing and combatting unlawful race and sex discrimination; expanding individual, merit-based opportunity for all; and ensuring even-handed civil rights enforcement.

As you report data on your employees’ race, ethnicity, and sex, I want to take this opportunity to remind you of your obligations under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 not to take any employment actions based on, or motivated in whole or in part by, an employee’s race, sex, or other protected characteristics. Your company or organization may not use information about your employees’ race/ethnicity or sex—including demographic data you collect and report in EEO-1 Component 1 reports—to facilitate unlawful employment discrimination based on race, sex, or other protected characteristics in violation of Title VII. Title VII’s protections apply equally to all workers, regardless of their race or sex. Different treatment based on race, sex, or another protected characteristic can be unlawful discrimination, no matter which employees or applicants are harmed. There is no “diversity” exception to Title VII’s requirements. For more information, please see the recently released technical assistance Q&A document “What You Should Know About DEI-Related Discrimination at Work.”

You also should be aware that President Trump recently issued an executive order titled “Restoring Equality of Opportunity and Meritocracy.” That order directed all agencies, including the EEOC, to deprioritize “disparate impact” enforcement—that is, investigations and lawsuits that challenge neutral practices that have unequal outcomes based on race, sex, or other protected characteristics—and also revoked prior Presidential approvals of certain disparate-impact regulations. The EEOC is an executive branch agency, not an independent agency. We will fully and robustly comply with this and all Executive Orders. Under my leadership, the EEOC will prioritize remedying intentional discrimination claims.

In addition, please note that under existing law, the fact that a neutral employment policy or practice has an unequal outcome on employees of a particular race or sex—that is, has a “disparate impact” based on race or sex—does not justify your company or organization treating any of your employees differently based on their race or sex. As noted above, you must not use the information collected and reported in your organization’s EEO-1 Component 1 report to justify treating employees differently based on their race, sex, or other protected characteristic.

The EEOC remains committed to helping employers comply with their obligations under federal employment discrimination laws.

Additional Information about the 2024 EEO-1 Component 1 Data Collection

The deadline to file the 2024 EEO-1 Component 1 report is Tuesday, June 24, 2025. As part of the EEOC’s efforts to identify continued cost savings for the American public, there will be a shorter collection period during which filers may submit their 2024 reports. The collection period will not extend beyond the Tuesday, June 24, 2025 “Published Due Date” deadline.

All updates about the 2024 EEO-1 Component 1 data collection, including the 2024 EEO-1 Component 1 Instruction Booklet, may be found on the EEO-1 Component 1 dedicated website at www.eeocdata.org/eeo1.

The EEOC is the sole federal agency authorized to investigate and litigate against private companies and other private employers for violations of federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. For public employers, the EEOC shares jurisdiction with the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division; the EEOC is responsible for investigating public sector charges before referring them to DOJ for potential litigation. The EEOC also is responsible for coordinating the federal government’s employment antidiscrimination effort. More information is available at www.eeoc.gov. Stay connected with the latest EEOC news by subscribing to our email updates.

Source: U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC.gov)