Civil rights groups and researchers at a public hearing Tuesday called on a federal agency to continue its annual collection of workplace demographic data, arguing that a proposal to end the practice will undermine efforts to fight discrimination.Twenty-two speakers testified at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s hearing, which lasted more than two hours. Most opposed the proposal to toss a 60-year-old requirement for tens of thousands of private sector employers to submit annual workforce demographic reports to the EEOC, which is responsible for enforcing anti-discrimination laws. Six speakers, however, spoke out in favor of the proposal, siding with the Trump administration’s stance that reporting such data is burdensome and encourages companies to adopt discriminatory practices to diversify their workforces.The proposal, currently subject to a 30-day public commentary period ending Aug. 24, is a key step in President Donald Trump’s efforts to overhaul the country’s civil rights enforcement, particularly stamping out diversity and inclusion practices.
Since 1966, the EEOC has required companies with at least 100 employees, or federal contractors with at least 50 workers, to submit a report each year called an EEO-1 that breaks down gender and racial representation across different roles, from executives to laborers and service workers. The Republican-led EEOC voted 2-1 last month to stop collecting that data, arguing that the reporting requirement may encourage employers to engage in discriminatory tactics.
