On February 1, 2016, the EEOC published its proposal to add compensation data to EEO-1 submissions, starting in 2017.  Specifically, the new rule would require employers that are subject to EEO-1 reporting and that have 100 or more employees to supply data on employees’ earnings and hours worked.

Employee pay data will be gleaned from W-2 earnings.  The EEOC is seeking input on a method for reporting salaried employees’ hours worked.  The agency does not anticipate requiring employers to track salaried exempt employees’ hours.

Federal agencies plan to use the EEO-1 pay data to assess complaints of discrimination, focus investigations, and identify employers with existing pay disparities that might warrant further examination.  The EEOC expects that the new reporting requirement will encourage employers to examine current pay practices and take action if they discover pay inequities.

Employers should take a hard look at their compensation practices and make any necessary changes now – before that data has to be shared with the EEOC, who, in turn, shares the data with other federal agencies, as well as with state and local Fair Employment Practices Agencies.

An illustration of the data to be collected under the EEOC’s proposal can be found here.  The full notice of the proposed revision is located at Federal Register number 2016-01544, available here.

Comments on the EEOC’s proposal must be submitted on or before April 1, 2016.  The single comment currently available for public review supports the proposal.