This data has helped fight workplace discrimination for 60 years. The Trump administration plans to delete it
Enforcing civil rights without these reports will be difficult for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, pushing US agency closer to Trump’s agenda, experts warn
TL;DR
- The EEOC is planning to stop collecting EEO-1 reports, which contain demographic data on employees broken down by race, ethnicity, sex, and job title.
- This data has been used for 60 years to enforce anti-discrimination laws, identify widespread discrimination in hiring and promotions, and recover billions of dollars for affected employees.
- Experts and former employees warn that eliminating this data collection will make it significantly harder for the EEOC to identify discrimination cases.
- The move is viewed as part of the Trump administration's broader agenda to attack diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts and reshape the EEOC.
- The EEOC commissioner appointed by Trump argues the data collection is unconstitutional, burdensome, encourages DEI programs, and incentivizes discrimination against white workers.
- The EEO-1 data is also used by researchers and civil rights advocates to evaluate diversity and workforce policies, and has been used as evidence in litigation.
- The EEOC has recently changed its strategic goals, prioritizing claims made by white men, dropping cases for transgender workers, and rescinding anti-harassment guidance.