The EEO-1 Report, formerly known as the Employer Information Report, is a government form requiring qualifying employers to provide a count of their employees by job category and then by ethnicity, race and gender. The EEO-1 Report is submitted by employers to both the EEOC and the Department of Labor, Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs.

The EEO-1 Report must be filed by employers with:
    1. federal government contracts in excess of $50,000 and 50 or more employees, and,
    2. by employers who do not have a federal government contract but have 100 or more employees.

The EEO-1 Report is filed annually. The EEOC uses the data contained on the EEo-1 to support civil rights enforcement as a tool to collect from private employer’s annual workforce data. The EEOC also uses the data to analyze employment patterns, such as the representation of female and minority workers within companies and industries, and to review the sex, ethnicity and race of the employees.

Recently, the EEOC filed a federal lawsuit against 84 Lumber. The EEOC is attempting to compel 84 Lumber to complete EEO-1 Reports. Apparently, since 2005, 84 Lumber has not turned in its annual EEO-1 Report. Qualifying companies should beware of the EEOC monitoring of the EEO-1 for enforcement purposes and the ramifications if the EEOC believes that the company is hiring or firing employees in a discriminatory manner.