81_FR_5133 81 FR 5113 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Revision of the Employer Information Report (EEO-1) and Comment Request

81 FR 5113 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Revision of the Employer Information Report (EEO-1) and Comment Request

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 20 (February 1, 2016)

Page Range5113-5121
FR Document2016-01544

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC or Commission) announces that it intends to submit to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request for a three-year PRA approval of a revised Employer Information Report (EEO-1) data collection. This revised data collection has two components. Component 1 collects the same data that is gathered by the currently approved EEO-1: Specifically, data about employees' ethnicity, race, and sex, by job category. Component 2 collects data on employees' W-2 earnings and hours worked, which EEO-1 filers already maintain in the ordinary course of business. For the 2016 reporting cycle, all EEO-1 filers would submit the data under Component 1. Starting in 2017, filers with 100 or more employees (both private industry and Federal contractor) would submit data in response to both Components 1 and 2. Contractors with 50 to 99 employees would only submit data for Component 1. In this notice, the EEOC solicits public comment on the utility and burden of collecting pay and hours- worked data through the EEO-1 data collection process.

Federal Register, Volume 81 Issue 20 (Monday, February 1, 2016)
[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 20 (Monday, February 1, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5113-5121]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-01544]


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EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION

[3046-0007]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Revision of the 
Employer Information Report (EEO-1) and Comment Request

AGENCY: Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

ACTION: Proposed revision of the employer information report (EEO-1) 
and comment request.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), the 
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC or Commission) announces 
that it intends to submit to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
a request for a three-year PRA approval of a revised Employer 
Information Report (EEO-1) data collection. This revised data 
collection has two components. Component 1 collects the same data that 
is gathered by the currently approved EEO-1: Specifically, data about 
employees' ethnicity, race, and sex, by job category. Component 2 
collects data on employees' W-2 earnings and hours worked, which EEO-1 
filers already maintain in the ordinary course of business. For the 
2016 reporting cycle, all EEO-1 filers would submit the data under 
Component 1. Starting in 2017, filers with 100 or more employees (both 
private industry and Federal contractor) would submit data in response 
to both Components 1 and 2. Contractors with 50 to 99 employees would 
only submit data for Component 1. In this notice, the EEOC solicits 
public comment on the utility and burden of collecting pay and hours-
worked data through the EEO-1 data collection process.

DATES: Written comments on this notice must be submitted on or before 
April 1, 2016.
    Pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 2000e-8(c), a public hearing concerning the 
proposed changes to the EEO-1 will be held at a place and time to be 
announced. To request an opportunity to present your views orally at 
the hearing, please submit a written request to the EEOC's Executive 
Secretariat (street address below) no later than February 22, 2016 to 
be assured of consideration. Please include your contact information.

ADDRESSES: Comments on this notice may be submitted to the EEOC in 
three ways; please use only one.
    Comments and attachments may be submitted online at http://www.regulations.gov, which is the Federal eRulemaking Portal. Follow 
the instructions on the Web site for submitting comments. Comments 
received here will be posted publicly on the same portal without 
change, including any personal information you provide. However, the 
EEOC reserves the right to refrain from posting comments, including 
those that contain obscene, indecent, or profane language; that contain 
threats or defamatory statements; that contain hate speech directed at 
race, color, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, ethnicity, age, 
religion, or disability; or that promote or endorse services or 
products.
    Hard copy comments and all requests to participate in the hearing 
may be submitted to Bernadette Wilson, Acting Executive Officer, 
Executive Secretariat, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 131 M 
Street NE., Washington, DC 20507.
    The Executive Secretariat also will accept documents totaling six 
or fewer pages by facsimile (``fax'') machine. This limitation is 
necessary to assure access to the equipment. The telephone number of 
the fax receiver is (202) 663-4114. (This is not a toll-free number.) 
Receipt of fax transmittals will not be acknowledged, except that the 
sender may request confirmation of receipt by calling the Executive 
Secretariat staff at (202) 663-4070 (voice) or (202) 663-4074 (TTY). 
(These are not toll-free telephone numbers.)
    Subject to the conditions noted above, the EEOC will post online at 
http://www.regulations.gov all comments submitted in hard copy or by 
fax with the Executive Secretariat. The EEOC Headquarters' library also 
will make available hard copies of all comments, by advance appointment 
only, between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern Time. To schedule 
an appointment to inspect the comments at the EEOC's library, contact 
the library staff at (202) 663-4630 (voice) or (202) 663-4641 (TTY). 
(These are not toll-free numbers.)
    For reference when commenting on this notice, the current EEO-1 
(and proposed Component 1) can be found at http://www.eeoc.gov/employers/eeo1survey/upload/eeo1-2.pdf. An illustration of the data to 
be collected by both Components 1 and 2 can be found at http://www.eeoc.gov/employers/eeo1survey/2016_new_survey.cfm.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ronald Edwards, Director, Program 
Research and Surveys Division, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 
131 M Street NE., Room 4SW30F, Washington, DC 20507; (202) 663-4949 
(voice) or (202) 663-7063 (TTY). Requests for this notice in an 
alternative format should be made to the Office of Communications and 
Legislative Affairs at (202) 663-4191 (voice) or (202) 663-4494 (TTY).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The EEO-1 Survey and Its Legal Authority

    Section 709(c) of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title 
VII) requires employers to make and keep records relevant to the 
determination of whether unlawful employment practices have been or are 
being committed, to preserve such records, and to produce reports as 
the Commission prescribes by regulation or order.\1\ Pursuant to this 
statutory authority, the EEOC in 1966 issued a regulation requiring 
certain employers to file executed copies of the EEO-1 survey in 
conformity with the directions and instructions on the form, which 
called for reporting employee data by job category, ethnicity, race, 
and sex.\2\ Pursuant to Executive Order 11246,\3\ the Office of Federal 
Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), 
in 1978 issued its regulation describing the EEO-1 as a report 
``promulgated jointly with the Equal Employment Opportunity 
Commission'' and requiring certain contractors to submit ``complete and 
accurate reports'' annually.\4\ Through the EEO-1 Joint Reporting 
Committee housed at the

[[Page 5114]]

EEOC, the EEO-1 is administered as a single data collection to meet the 
statistical needs of both agencies.\5\ Currently, the EEO-1 directs 
certain covered employers with more than 50 employees (contractors) or 
100 employees (private industry) \6\ to report annually the number of 
individuals they employ by job category and by race, ethnicity, and 
sex.\7\ The data include seven race and ethnicity categories \8\ and 
ten job categories,\9\ by sex. A sample copy of the currently approved 
EEO-1 can be found at http://www.eeoc.gov/employers/eeo1survey/upload/eeo1-2.pdf.
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    \1\ 42 U.S.C. 2000e-8(c).
    \2\ The EEOC's EEO-1 regulation is at 29 part 1602 Subpart B. 
The EEOC is responsible for obtaining OMB's PRA approval for the 
EEO-1 report.
    \3\ Exec. Order No. 11,246, 30 FR 12,319 (Sept. 24, 1965).
    \4\ 41 CFR 60-1.7(a).
    \5\ The EEOC shares EEO-1 data with state and local Fair 
Employment Practices Agencies under the authority of section 709(d) 
of Title VII. Subject to their agreement to comply with the 
confidentiality provisions of 42 U.S.C. 2000e-8(e), the EEOC shares 
EEO-1 reports with the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Federal 
Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the National Credit Union 
Administration (NCUA). The FDIC and the NCUA use EEO-1 data pursuant 
to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 
2010 to help analyze diversity in management, employment, and 
business activities. DOJ uses the EEO-1 data when it defends OFCCP 
in litigation, in the event a federal contractor sues OFCCP to 
prevent debarment.
    \6\ Unless otherwise noted, the term ``contractor'' refers to 
federal contractors and first-tier subcontractors that satisfy the 
employee and contract size coverage criteria that subject them to 
the EEO-1 reporting obligations. The term ``private industry'' 
refers to all other entities required to file the EEO-1 that are not 
included in the ``contractor'' designation. The term ``employer'' or 
``filer'' refers collectively to all entities that file EEO-1 data.
    \7\ The EEO-1 uses federal race and ethnic categories, which 
were adopted by the Commission in 2005 and implemented in 2007, 
pursuant to the PRA.
    \8\ Hispanic or Latino--A person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto 
Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin 
regardless of race.
    White (Not Hispanic or Latino)--A person having origins in any 
of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa.
    Black or African American (Not Hispanic or Latino)--A person 
having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa.
    Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander (Not Hispanic or 
Latino)--A person having origins in any of the peoples of Hawaii, 
Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands.
    Asian (Not Hispanic or Latino)--A person having origins in any 
of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the 
Indian Subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, 
Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, 
and Vietnam.
    American Indian or Alaska Native (Not Hispanic or Latino)--A 
person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and 
South America (including Central America), and who maintain tribal 
affiliation or community attachment.
    Two or More Races (Not Hispanic or Latino)--All persons who 
identify with more than one of the above five races.
    \9\ The ten job groups are: Executive/Senior Level Officials and 
Managers; First/Mid Level Officials and Managers; Professionals; 
Technicians; Sales Workers; Administrative Support Workers; Craft 
Workers; Operatives; Laborers and Helpers; Service Workers.
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Adding Pay Data to the EEO-1

    In 1964, Congress enacted Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, as 
amended, 42 U.S.C. 2000e, et seq., (Title VII), which makes unlawful a 
wide range of discriminatory employment practices, including pay 
discrimination, because of race, color, religion, national origin, or 
sex. The EEOC is responsible for enforcing Title VII and other federal 
laws prohibiting employment discrimination, including the Equal Pay Act 
of 1963.\10\ The Equal Pay Act prohibits sex-based wage discrimination 
between men and women if they work in the same establishment and 
perform jobs that require substantially equal skill, effort, and 
responsibility under similar working conditions.\11\ OFCCP enforces 
Executive Order 11246, as amended, which prohibits discrimination, 
including compensation discrimination, based on race, color, religion, 
sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or religion.\12\
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    \10\ 29 U.S.C. 206(d).
    \11\ Id. Enforcement of the Equal Pay Act was transferred from 
the DOL to the EEOC in 1978. 5 USCA APP. 1 REORG. PLAN 1 1978.
    \12\ See Department of Labor, Office of Federal Contractor 
Compliance Programs, Exec. Order 11246 as amended, http://www.dol.gov/ofccp/regs/statutes/eo11246.htm.
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    In 2010, the EEOC joined other federal agencies, including the DOL, 
as members of the President's National Equal Pay Task Force to identify 
ways to improve enforcement of federal laws prohibiting pay 
discrimination. The Task Force recommended, among other things, that 
the EEOC engage the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to conduct a 
study assessing how to most effectively collect pay data to support its 
wage discrimination law enforcement efforts. The EEOC accordingly 
commissioned a study, and the NAS convened a Panel on Measuring and 
Collecting Pay Information from U.S. Employers by Gender, Race, and 
National Origin. This Panel's August 15, 2012, report (NAS Report) \13\ 
recognized the potential value for enforcement of collecting pay data 
from employers by sex, race, and national origin through a survey such 
as the EEO-1, and emphasized the importance of a definitive plan for 
how the data would be used in coordination with other equal employment 
opportunity (EEO) enforcement agencies. The NAS Report also recommended 
that the EEOC conduct a pilot to inform the parameters for any pay data 
collection.\14\
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    \13\ National Research Council. 2012. Collecting Compensation 
Data From Employers. Washington, DC: National Academies Press, 8. 
Available at http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=13496.
    \14\  Id. at 87-88.
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    Following the NAS Report recommendation, the EEOC commissioned an 
independent Pilot Study to identify the most efficient means to collect 
pay data. The Pilot Study, completed in September 2015, assisted the 
EEOC in formulating this proposal and will guide the development of 
analytic techniques to make full use of the data to be collected.\15\ 
The Pilot Study considered a variety of statistical approaches that 
could be used to detect pay differences between groups and then tested 
these approaches by applying them to synthetic pay data \16\ in order 
to identify their strengths and weaknesses.\17\ Ultimately, the Pilot 
Study made technical recommendations about several central components 
of a data collection, including: The unit of pay to be collected; the 
best summary measures of central tendency and dispersion for rates of 
pay; appropriate statistical test(s) for analyzing pay data; and the 
most efficient and least costly methods for transmitting pay data from 
employers. The Pilot Study also estimated employer burden-hour costs 
and the processing costs associated with the recommended method of 
collection.
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    \15\ ``EEOC Pay Pilot Study,'' September, 2015, Sage Computing. 
Available at: http://www.eeoc.gov/employers/eeo1survey/pay-pilot-study.pdf.
    \16\ Two ``synthetic'' data bases were used. The first synthetic 
data base used data from the auto parts manufacturing industry and 
the Occupation Employment Statistics (OES) as well as EEO-1 data to 
construct a hypothetical firm in the auto parts manufacturing 
industry. To do so, the number of employees by EEO-1 job groups in 
an average sized firm was estimated. EEO-1 job groups were then 
mapped to the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) categories 
in the OES data. Using OES statistics on the distribution of annual 
wages within SOC categories, the likely wages for EEO-1 job groups 
in an average firm were generated. These samples represent typical 
or representative wages, not actual wages, for auto parts employees. 
See Pilot Study, page 79. The second data base used data extracts 
from Current Population Survey (CPS) data (downloaded from http://cps.ipums.org. March CPS Annual Social and Economic Supplement). The 
data were downloaded from the International Public Use Microdata 
Series Web site for the 2010 to 2014 period. (King, M., S. Ruggles, 
J.T. Alexander, S. Flood, K. Genadek, M.B. Schroeder, B. Trampe, and 
R. Vick. 2010. Integrated Public Use Microdata Series, Current 
Population Survey: Version 3.0. [Machine-readable database]. 
Minneapolis: University of Minnesota.) See Pilot Study, page 56.
    \17\ Synthetic pay data was used because conducting a test 
survey of nine or more companies would require PRA approval. 44 
U.S.C. 3502(3)(A)(i).
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    Separately, the EEOC sought input about updating all the EEO 
surveys, including adding pay data, when its staff held a two-day 
meeting in March 2012 with employer representatives, statisticians, 
human resources information systems (HRIS) experts, and information 
technology specialists

[[Page 5115]]

(work group). The work group reviewed the current data collection 
procedures, provided feedback on future modernization of the EEO 
surveys, and engaged in brainstorming that led to ideas submitted 
individually by group participants on a number of topics, including 
collecting pay data as well as multiple-race category data on the EEO-
1. Employer stakeholders expressed concern about the importance of 
maintaining the confidentiality of any individual filer's pay data even 
if pay data were only published in aggregated form.\18\ The work group 
report \19\ reflects feedback from participants that the burden of 
reporting pay data would be minimal for EEO-1 filers.
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    \18\ For example, reporting the average pay for Hispanic or 
Latino women who are Executive/Senior Level Officials and Managers, 
if there are few Hispanic or Latino women in that job group, may 
effectively reveal the pay of individual employees. To allay these 
concerns, the EEOC intends to re-examine the rules for testing 
statistical confidentiality for publishing aggregate data to make 
certain that tables with small cell-counts are not made public.
    \19\ ``EEOC Survey System Modernization Work Group Meeting, 
Draft Report,'' March 19, 2012, Sage Computing. Available at: http://www.eeoc.gov/employers/eeo1survey/survey-modernization.pdf.
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    On April 8, 2014, the Presidential Memorandum, ``Advancing Pay 
Equality Through Compensation Data Collection'' was issued. It directed 
the Secretary of Labor to develop a compensation data collection 
proposal.\20\ OFCCP issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on 
August 8, 2014, proposing to amend one of its implementing regulations 
for Executive Order 11246 to add a requirement that certain federal 
contractors submit compensation data reports to OFCCP.\21\ Under the 
NPRM, OFCCP also proposed a sample of an Equal Pay Report for 
collecting this data.\22\
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    \20\ Presidential Documents, Memorandum of April 8, 2014, 
``Advancing Pay Equality Through Compensation Data Collection,'' 
Memorandum for the Secretary of Labor, April 11, 2014 (79 FR 20751).
    \21\ Government Contractors, Requirement to Report Summary Data 
on Employee Compensation, 79 FR 46563 (August 8, 2014). This NPRM 
provided detailed explanations for the design of the Equal Pay 
Survey, which utilized W-2 information as a measure of wages and 
reported cumulative wages. It did not use pay bands like Component 2 
of the currently proposed EEO-1. In 2011, OFCCP had issued an 
Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM). Nondiscrimination in 
Compensation: Compensation Data Collection Tool, 79 FR 49398 (August 
10, 2011), in response to which stakeholders provided extensive 
input and information.
    \22\ Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs and Office of 
Management and Budget, Equal Pay Report, http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAViewIC?ref_nbr=201407-1250-001&icID=212555.
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    Public comments submitted to OFCCP about the proposed Equal Pay 
Report and rule argued for, among other things, the need to improve 
interagency coordination and decrease employer burden for reporting 
compensation data by using the EEO-1, rather than a new OFCCP data 
collection, as well as the need to protect privacy and data 
confidentiality. The instant proposal responds to these concerns.\23\ 
Similarly, the NAS Report recommended that the federal EEO enforcement 
agencies develop a coordinated plan for using compensation data. In the 
course of developing this EEO-1 proposal, the EEOC and OFCCP together 
consulted with the Department of Justice, focusing on how EEO-1 pay 
data would be used to assess complaints of discrimination, focus 
investigations, and identify employers with existing pay disparities 
that might warrant further examination. The EEOC and OFCCP plan to 
develop statistical tools that would be available to staff on their 
computers, to utilize the EEO-1 pay data for these purposes. They also 
anticipate developing software tools and guidance for stakeholders to 
support analysis of aggregated EEO-1 data. Finally, the EEOC and OFCCP 
anticipate that the process of reporting pay data may encourage 
employers to self-monitor and comply voluntarily if they uncover pay 
inequities.
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    \23\ OFCCP plans to utilize EEO-1 pay data for federal 
contractors with 100 or more employees instead of implementing a 
separate compensation data survey as outlined in its August 8, 2014, 
NPRM.
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    The following discussion explains the justification for each 
component of the proposed EEO-1 pay data collection. As stated above, 
this proposal does not compel employers to collect new data but rather 
requires the reporting of pay data that employers maintain in the 
normal course of business. This notice proposes a collection that will 
maximize the utility of the pay data while balancing respondent 
concerns about confidentiality and the burden of the collection.

Proposal To Add Pay Data to the EEO-1

Who Will Report Pay Data and When This Reporting Requirement Will Start
    For the 2016 EEO-1 reporting cycle, to ease the transition, all 
employers will submit information that is identical to the information 
collected by the currently approved EEO-1 (Component 1). Starting in 
2017, employers that are subject to the EEO-1 reporting requirement and 
that have 100 or more employees will submit the EEO-1 with pay and 
related information (Components 1 and 2). By contrast, contractors that 
are subject to the EEO-1 reporting requirement and that have between 50 
and 99 employees will continue to submit the same information that is 
collected by the current EEO-1 report (Component 1). They will not be 
required to submit pay and hours-worked data. A sample copy of the 
currently approved EEO-1 report provides an illustration of the data to 
be collected by Component 1. It can be found at http://www.eeoc.gov/employers/eeo1survey/upload/eeo1-2.pdf. An illustration of the data to 
be collected by both Components 1 and 2 can be found at http://www.eeoc.gov/employers/eeo1survey/2016_new_survey.cfm.
When Annual EEO-1 Reports Will Be Due and How Employers Will Submit 
Data
    Currently, employers must collect EEO-1 data from any pay period 
occurring in the months of July through September of the current survey 
year. The EEO-1 must be filed by September 30th of the same year. These 
deadlines would continue after the addition of pay data, to minimize 
employers' burden by folding the new collection into long-established 
deadlines. As explained below regarding the utility and burden of using 
W-2 data to describe pay, requiring filers to report W-2 data as of a 
pay period occurring in the months of July through September should not 
be burdensome given the capabilities of HRIS software.
    Beginning in 2017, all filers will be required to submit the 
proposed EEO-1 report electronically. Automated electronic data 
collection promotes the utility of the EEO-1 survey by reducing the 
number of inadvertent human errors in the data. Electronic data 
collection also is less burdensome for employers than assigning staff 
to complete the survey. As of 2014, all but three of the 67,146 EEO-1 
filers already used electronic data submission.\24\ Any EEO-1 filer 
seeking an exemption from this electronic requirement may use the 
existing EEO-1 process for seeking special reporting procedures.\25\

[[Page 5116]]

Component 2 of the revised EEO-1 includes a request for data on the 
amount of employer staff time used to collect and report pay data on 
the EEO-1. This will better enable the EEOC to quantify the burden of 
this aspect of the survey.
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    \24\ The remaining three filers submitted hard copy reports.
    \25\ The EEO-1 instructions provide that ``[a]n employer who 
claims that preparation or the filing of Standard Form 100 would 
create undue hardship may apply to the Commission for a special 
reporting procedure. In such cases, the employer must submit in 
writing a detailed alternative proposal for compiling and reporting 
information to: The EEO-1 Coordinator, EEOC-Survey Division, 131 M 
Street NE., Washington, DC 20507. Only those special procedures 
approved in writing by the Commission are authorized. Such 
authorizations remain in effect until notification of cancellation 
is given. All requests for information should be sent to the address 
above.'' See http://www.eeoc.gov/employers/eeo1survey/2007instructions.cfm. Any requests would be considered by the EEO-1 
Coordinator, who is also responsible for issuing any written 
approvals.
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What Pay Data Will Be Collected
Measure: Total W-2 Earnings
    In selecting total W-2 earnings as the measure of pay, the focus 
was on maximizing utility of the EEO-1 pay data while minimizing the 
burden on employers to collect and report it. With respect to 
maximizing utility, the goal was to identify a measure of compensation 
that encompasses as much employer-paid income earned by individuals as 
possible. With respect to minimizing burden, the focus was on finding a 
measure that is well-defined and compatible with the data elements in 
employers' existing human resources and pay systems. Consideration also 
was given to the sample Equal Pay Report proposed in OFCCP's 2014 
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, which used W-2 earnings.\26\
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    \26\ In the NPRM, OFCCP stated that it chose the W-2 definition 
of compensation because it accounts for a broad range of pay 
elements and because collection of W-2 data would result in minimal 
burden on contractors. 79 FR 46562 at 46576 (August 8, 2014). Public 
comments on the NPRM were split on using the W-2, but EEOC and OFCCP 
conclude that it remains the best option for the reasons stated in 
this section.
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    Five different measures of earnings now used by federal data 
collection systems were considered. The first three were from the U.S. 
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS): The Occupation Employment Statistics 
(OES); \27\ the National Compensation Survey (NCS); \28\ and the 
Current Employment Statistics (CES) survey program.\29\ The remaining 
options were from the Social Security Administration (SSA) \30\ and the 
Internal Revenue Service (IRS).\31\
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    \27\ The Occupation Employment Statistics (OES) survey defines 
earnings to include base rate pay, cost-of-living allowances, 
guaranteed pay, hazardous-duty pay, incentive pay such as 
commissions and production bonuses, tips, and on-call pay. The OES 
measure excludes back pay, jury duty pay, overtime pay, severance 
pay, shift differentials, nonproduction bonuses, employer costs for 
supplementary benefits, and tuition reimbursements. See U.S. Bureau 
of Labor Statistics, Occupation Employment Statistics. http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_tec.htm. See page 4 of http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/methods_statement.pdf for the 12 wage 
intervals.
    \28\ The National Compensation Survey (NCS) is a BLS 
establishment survey of employee salaries, wages, and benefits. In 
this survey, ``[e]arnings are defined as regular payments from 
employers to their employees as compensation for straight-time (not 
overtime) hourly wages or for any salaried work performed.'' The NCS 
does not include premium pay for overtime, holidays, and weekends; 
shift differentials such as night work; nonproduction bonuses; tips; 
and uniform and tool allowances. See U.S. Bureau of Labor 
Statistics, Overview on BLS Statistics on Pay and Benefits, http://www.bls.gov/bls/wages.htm http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ncswage2010.pdf, at 
pp 8-9. However, this definition does include incentive pay such as 
commissions, piece-rate payments, production bonuses, cost-of- 
living adjustments, hazard pay, payments for income deferred due to 
participation in a salary reduction plan, and deadhead pay (which is 
paid to a driver who is driving an empty vehicle, typically when the 
driver is traveling to pick up a delivery or after completion of a 
delivery).
    \29\ The Current Employment Statistics (CES) survey program is a 
BLS and state cooperative program that produces data on earnings but 
not wages. Average hourly earnings exclude items such as employee 
benefits, irregular bonuses and commissions, retroactive payments, 
and the employers' share of payroll taxes and therefore, do not 
represent employers' total compensation costs (as calculated by the 
National Compensation Survey). See National Research Council. 
Collecting Compensation Data from Employers. National Academic Press 
2013. http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=13496, at p. 8.
    \30\ The Social Security Administration defines income as any 
payment received during a calendar month that can be used to meet 
needs for food or shelter. It may be in cash or in kind (i.e., 
payment in the form of the use of a good or service, such as free 
rent). It includes earned income and unearned income. Examples of 
unearned income include social security, interest and dividends, 
retirement income, unemployment benefits, alimony, child support, 
and pay received for work while an inmate in a penal institution. 
See http://www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/ssact/title16b/1612.htm.
    \31\ The Internal Revenue Service's W-2 definition of gross 
income includes wages, salaries, fees, commissions, tips, taxable 
fringe benefits, and elective deferrals. Amounts withheld for taxes, 
including but not limited to income tax, Social Security, and 
Medicare taxes, are considered ``received'' and must be included in 
gross income of the given year they are withheld. See http://www.irs.gov/publications/p17/ch05.html; see also http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/What-is-Earned-Income%3F.
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    Of these five options, the focus was on the relative strengths and 
weaknesses of the OES and the W-2 definitions because they are best 
known to employers. The NAS Study recommended the use of OES' wage 
definition because it is based on widespread surveys,\32\ but the EEOC 
ultimately decided not to use the OES definition because it excludes 
widely-used elements of compensation such as overtime pay, severance 
pay, shift differentials, nonproduction bonuses, year-end bonuses, 
holiday bonuses, and tuition reimbursement.\33\ These elements of pay, 
however, are increasingly important. According to a 2014 survey of 
1,064 U.S. companies, ``91 percent of organizations offer a variable 
pay program and expect to spend 12.7 percent of payroll on variable pay 
for salaried exempt employees in 2015.'' \34\ Another recent survey of 
companies' bonus practices found that 74 percent of respondents used a 
sign-on bonus program and 61 percent used a retention bonus program in 
2014.\35\
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    \32\ National Research Council, 2012, Collecting Compensation 
Data From Employers. Washington, DC: National Academies Press, 8. 
Available at  http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=13496, at 
p.58.
    \33\ United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor 
Statistics, Occupational Employment Statistics-Frequently Asked 
Questions, http://www.bls.gov/oes/oes_ques.htm
    \34\ See Press Release, Aon Hewitt, 2014 U.S. Salary Increase 
Survey, (Aug. 27, 2014), http://aon.mediaroom.com/New-Aon-Hewitt-Survey-Shows-2014-Variable-Pay-Spending-Spikes-to-Record-High-Level.
    \35\ WorldatWork. ``Bonus Programs and Practices.'' Available at 
http://www.worldatwork.org/adimLink?id=75444, at p.10.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    By contrast, the W-2 definition provides a more comprehensive 
report of earnings at the employee level than the OES definition. W-2 
gross income includes wages, salaries, fees, commissions, tips, taxable 
fringe benefits, and elective deferrals. Amounts withheld for taxes, 
including but not limited to income tax, Social Security, and Medicare 
taxes, are considered ``received'' and are included as gross income of 
the given year they are withheld.\36\ The W-2 encompasses all earned 
income, including supplemental pay components such as overtime pay, 
shift differentials, and nonproduction bonuses (e.g., year-end bonuses, 
hiring and referral bonuses, and profit-sharing cash bonuses).\37\ 
Nonproduction bonuses account for over 11 percent of cash compensation 
for management, business, and financial operations occupations, while 
shift differentials are a significant component of compensation for 
healthcare workers.\38\ A panel of HRIS experts convened for the Pilot 
Study agreed that the trend is toward paying higher-level executives in 
bonuses, which are

[[Page 5117]]

counted as W-2 income but are not included in the OES definition.\39\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \36\ Internal Revenue Service. 2014. ``Wages, Salaries, and 
Other Earnings.'' In: Internal Revenue Service. Your Federal Income 
Tax (Individuals). Available at http://www.irs.gov/publications/p17/ch05.html and Internal Revenue Service. 2015. ``What Is Earned 
Income?'' Available at http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/What-is-Earned-Income%3F.
    \37\ U.S. Dept. of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. ``Fact 
Sheet for the June 2000 Employment Cost Index Release.'' Available 
at http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/sp/ecrp0003.pdf.
    \38\ John L. Bishow, U.S. Dept. of Labor, Bureau of Labor 
Statistics. ``A Look at Supplemental Pay: Overtime Pay, Bonsues, and 
Shift Differentials.'' Available at http://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/cwc/a-look-at-supplemental-pay-overtime-pay-bonuses-and-shift-differentials.pdf at pp 5-7. ``Analysis is limited to jobs that 
receive positive payments--that is, those jobs that actually receive 
supplemental pay, as opposed to the average for all jobs--the 
percentage for each type of supplemental pay is higher.''
    \39\ The panel included individuals with expertise in HRIS and 
SAP, and in compensation, payroll, and benefits.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Using the W-2 definition is less likely to be burdensome for most 
respondents than using the OES wage definition. Federal law requires 
all employers to generate W-2s for each of their employees. Although W-
2 data may not be routinely compiled until the end of the calendar 
year, and EEO-1 reports are due on September 30th, several approaches 
are possible. First, because payroll records are cumulative, generating 
reports at any given point in time should not be complicated for 
employers with automated payroll systems. The W-2 data can be imported 
into a HRIS, and a data field can be established to accumulate W-2 data 
for the EEO-1. Alternatively, employers could obtain this pay 
information by utilizing quarterly payroll reports for the previous 
four quarters. Employers that do their payroll in-house will be able to 
report this data utilizing most major payroll software systems or by 
using off-the-shelf payroll software that is preprogrammed to compile 
data for generating W-2s. For employers that outsource their payroll, 
there would be a one-time burden of writing custom programs to import 
the data from their payroll companies into their HRIS systems.
Organizing and Reporting W-2 Data
    In determining how employers would be required to organize and 
report their employees' W-2 data, the focus was on collectability, 
burden, confidentiality, and data utility.\40\ The NAS Report and the 
Pilot Study reviewed various alternative approaches for reporting 
compensation, which ranged from highly detailed to general. Of these 
alternatives, the most comprehensive collection proposals required 
collecting data at the individual employee level and would have 
included human capital qualifications data as well as pay data. 
Although these options would reduce ambiguity and help assess the 
existence of potential discrimination, they also raise significant 
confidentiality and burden concerns.\41\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \40\ Collecting Compensation Data from Employers, National 
Academies of Science http://de.nlx.org/pdfs/20140825_nrc-report-august2012.pdf.
    \41\ See supra note 19, at 2.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Options for collecting aggregate pay data include using pay rates 
(calculated by employer), range of pay with a maximum and minimum 
provided by employer, total pay, and average or median pay. There are 
disadvantages to each of these approaches. Total pay could be 
impractical and would be dependent on the number of employees. Average 
pay by occupation would provide limited information about variation. 
Collecting the range of pay or average pay could produce biased 
estimates as pay is often distributed in a manner where a few 
individuals are paid much more than others. This might create 
misleading data when ranges or means are used as a measure. Simply 
gathering rates of pay, without standard deviation measures, would not 
assist in parity/disparity analysis, and asking employers to calculate 
standard deviations would not only be burdensome but also would risk a 
higher rate of inaccuracy.
    Using pay bands appears to be more likely to generate reliable data 
while being less burdensome for employers than other reporting 
alternatives. Therefore, Component 2 of the revised EEO-1 will collect 
aggregate W-2 data in 12 pay bands for the 10 EEO-1 job categories. 
Employers will simply count and report the number of employees in each 
pay band. For example, a filer will report on the EEO-1 that it employs 
3 African American women as professionals in the highest pay band. As 
to data utility, pay bands will allow the EEOC to compute within-job-
category variation, across-job-category variation, and overall 
variation, which would support the EEOC's ability to discern potential 
discrimination while preserving confidentiality.\42\ At the same time, 
pay bands would not require the computation of mean earnings or a 
measure of variance as alternative approaches might, thus avoiding a 
source of employer burden. Finally, as distinguished from mean 
earnings, pay bands can effectively use statistical tests that do not 
rely on an assumption that pay is normally distributed.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \42\ See also Micklewright, John and Schnepf, Sylke V., How 
Reliable are Income Data Collected with a Single Question? (November 
2007). See also IZA Discussion Paper No. 3177, http://ftp.iza.org/dp3177.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    By choosing to use pay bands, the EEOC also is adopting a 
methodology that will limit employer burden. HRIS software developers 
already are familiar with using pay bands on the EEO-4 survey, which 
collects pay data from state and local government employers.\43\ By 
choosing to use pay bands for the EEO-1, the EEOC and OFCCP will allow 
HRIS software developers to build on their existing experience with the 
EEO-4. Consistent with the recommendations of the Pilot Study, however, 
the EEO-1 pay bands (Table 2) will track the 12 ``wage intervals'' used 
by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in the OES survey.\44\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \43\ See U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, EEO-4 
Survey, https://egov.eeoc.gov/eeo4/.
    \44\ See Survey Methods and Reliability Statement for the May 
2014 Occupational Employment Statistics Survey. http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/methods_statement.pdf.

                        Table 1--EEO-4 Pay Bands
------------------------------------------------------------------------
              Pay bands                         Pay bands label
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1....................................  $100-$15,999.
2....................................  $16,000-$19,999.
3....................................  $20,000-$24,999.
4....................................  $25,000-$32,999.
5....................................  $33,000-$42,999.
6....................................  $43,000-$54,999.
7....................................  $55,000-$69,999.
8....................................  $70,000 and over.
------------------------------------------------------------------------


                   Table 2--Proposed EEO--1 Pay Bands
------------------------------------------------------------------------
              Pay bands                         Pay bands label
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1....................................  $19,239 and under.
2....................................  $19,240-$24,439.
3....................................  $24,440-$30,679.
4....................................  $30,680-$38,999.
5....................................  $39,000-$49,919.
6....................................  $49,920-$62,919.
7....................................  $62,920-$80,079.
8....................................  $80,080-$101,919.
9....................................  $101,920-$128,959.
10...................................  $128,960-$163,799.
11...................................  $163,800-$207,999.
12...................................  $208,000 and over.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hours Worked
    Consistent with the recommendations of the Pilot Study, Component 2 
of the revised EEO-1 will collect the total number of hours worked by 
the employees included in each EEO-1 pay band cell. This data will 
allow analysis of pay differences while considering aggregate 
variations in hours. The total hours worked also will permit an 
analysis that accounts for periods when the employees were not 
employed, thus reflecting part-time work.\45\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \45\ Collection of the hours-worked data will account for the 
fact that some individuals are employed for less than the entire 
reporting year, and therefore, may work fewer hours. For example, if 
a large number of women are hired part way into a reporting year, 
their W-2 compensation will be lower than the compensation of men 
who worked for the entire reporting year.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The EEOC seeks employer input with respect to how to report hours 
worked for salaried employees. One approach would be for employers to 
use an estimate of 40 hours per week for full-time salaried workers. 
The EEOC is not proposing to require an employer to begin collecting 
additional data on actual hours worked for salaried workers, to the 
extent that the employer does not currently maintain such

[[Page 5118]]

information. Employers are encouraged to comment on this issue.\46\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \46\ Some commentators on OFCCP's proposed data collection 
suggested that hours-worked data should not be collected based, in 
part, on their concerns that the collection would be burdensome and 
that some employers do not collect this data for exempt employees. 
For this reason, the EEOC encourages employers to provide specific, 
detailed input on this aspect of its proposed data collection.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Generally, however, the initial conclusion is that requiring 
employers to provide the total number of hours worked would impose a 
minimal burden. Employers will report only data that they already 
maintain. The panel of HRIS experts convened for the Pilot Study 
reported that ``total hours worked'' data is maintained by almost all 
payroll systems. The information is available for the previous quarter, 
the previous four quarters, and the calendar year. For employers that 
outsource payroll, this variable could be added to the one-time 
reporting query that is written to download income data.
Analysis of W-2 Pay Data
    Statistical tests will be used as an initial check of the W-2 data 
to be collected on the EEO-1, specifically, statistical significance 
tests that do not rely on an assumption of a normal distribution. The 
Pilot Study recommended several statistical techniques to test within-
job categories and then suggested further examining companies and 
establishments with low probabilities that the differences between 
examined groups, such as men and women, occurred by chance.\47\ The 
Pilot Study also noted that the issue of calibrating error rates (power 
vs. significance level) needed to be addressed to detect discrimination 
without suffering too many false positives. This process would include 
recognition of how sample sizes may influence results and also of 
judicial precedents regarding definitions of statistical 
probabilities.\48\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \47\ For example, the Pilot Study recommends using the Mann-
Whitney test for grouped data and comparison of two groups (for 
example, gender (men versus women) or race (African Americans versus 
Whites)), and the Kruskal-Wallis test for comparison of more than 
two groups (e.g., race). These tests are the most appropriate for an 
initial review of establishments as a whole. Analyses can be 
conducted by computing the statistical tests within job categories 
and then proceeding to more closely investigate companies and 
establishments with low p-values. Interval regressions can be used 
to examine the impact of hours worked, race and gender on 
distributions within pay bands. It may also be appropriate to 
compare a particular firm's regression coefficients for the hours 
worked, race and gender variables to those derived from an analysis 
of the relevant labor market as a whole.
    \48\ The EEOC's statistical analysis techniques are consistent 
with judicially recognized statistical standards for identifying 
meaningful discrepancies. Hazelwood Sch. Dist. v. United States, 433 
U.S. 299, 311 n.17 (1977) (``a fluctuation of more than two or three 
standard deviations would undercut the hypothesis that decisions 
were being made randomly with respect to [a protected trait]);'' see 
also, Wright v. Stern, 450 F.Supp.2d 335, 363 (S.D.N.Y. 2006) (court 
denied employer's motion for summary judgment, concluding that the 
plaintiffs presented sufficient statistical and other evidence for a 
jury to conclude that the employer engaged in widespread 
discrimination against African-American and Hispanic employees, in 
terms of promotions and compensation. The court noted that, 
``[t]hough not dispositive, statistics demonstrating a disparity of 
two standard deviations outside of the norm are generally considered 
statistically significant.'')
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The EEOC and OFCCP plan to develop a software tool that will allow 
their investigators to conduct an initial analysis by looking at W-2 
pay distribution within a single firm or establishment, and by 
comparing the firm's or establishment's data to aggregate industry or 
metropolitan-area data.\49\ This application would highlight statistics 
of interest.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \49\ Operationally, this application, or dashboard, could relate 
the nominal results of statistical tests (that is, test statistics 
or their p-values) to those encountered in the location and the 
labor market based on the relevant industry and geography. On such a 
dashboard, the EEOC investigator would see technical information 
such as the values of the main statistics used to describe the 
establishment, and its relation to the same statistic encountered in 
other comparable establishments.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Confidentiality
    The EEOC and OFCCP jointly collect the data on the EEO-1 report 
through their Joint Reporting Committee, which has represented the two 
agencies for the purpose of administering the EEO-1 since the reporting 
requirement began. All data is initially submitted to the Joint 
Reporting Committee housed at the EEOC and then provided to OFCCP. EEOC 
is required to hold its EEO-1 data confidential under Section 709(e) of 
Title VII, which forbids ``any [EEOC] officer or employee'' from making 
``public in any manner whatever any information obtained by the 
Commission . . . prior to the institution of any [Title VII] proceeding 
. . . involving such information.'' 42 U.S.C. 2000e-8(e). Any EEOC 
officer or employee who violates this prohibition is guilty of a 
misdemeanor. Id.
    The EEOC publishes aggregate EEO-1 data in a manner that does not 
reveal any particular employer's data, consistent with Section 709(e). 
For example, the EEOC has published aggregate EEO-1 data at the 
national, regional, and industry levels.\50\ The EEOC also publishes 
reports analyzing aggregate EEO-1 data based on industry (e.g., 
finance, media, and law firms) or particular groups of people (e.g., 
women of color).\51\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \50\ See U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, ``Job 
Patterns for Minorities and Women in Private Industry (EEO-1), 
http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/statistics/employment/jobpat-eeo1/index.cfm.
    \51\ See U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Special 
Reports, http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/statistics/reports/index.cfm.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    After collecting and reconciling EEO-1 data, the Joint Reporting 
Committee at the EEOC provides a database to OFCCP. OFCCP holds 
confidential the data for contractor filers to the maximum extent 
permitted by law, in accordance with Exemption 4 of the Freedom of 
Information Act and the Trade Secrets Act.\52\ With respect to EEO-1 
data for companies that are not under OFCCP's jurisdiction, the 
confidentiality provisions of Section 709(e) apply.\53\ Accordingly, 
OFCCP refers all requests for such data to the EEOC for a response.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \52\ See 5 U.S.C. 552 (b)(4). FOIA does not apply to ``trade 
secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from a 
person and privileged or confidential''; 18 U.S.C. 1905. Under the 
Trade Secrets Act, criminal penalties may apply to an officer or 
employee of the United States who ``publishes, divulges, discloses, 
or makes known in any manner or to any extent not authorized by law 
. . . confidential statistical data. . . .'' See also 79 FR 46562 at 
46583 (August 8, 2014).
    \53\ See relevant Paperwork Reduction Act provision, 44 U.S.C. 
3510. ``(a) The Director may direct an agency to make available to 
another agency, or an agency may make available to another agency, 
information obtained by a collection of information if the 
disclosure is not inconsistent with applicable law. (b)(1) If 
information obtained by an agency is released by that agency to 
another agency, all the provisions of law (including penalties) that 
relate to the unlawful disclosure of information apply to the 
officers and employees of the agency to which information is 
released to the same extent and in the same manner as the provisions 
apply to the officers and employees of the agency which originally 
obtained the information. (2) The officers and employees of the 
agency to which the information is released, in addition, shall be 
subject to the same provisions of law, including penalties, relating 
to the unlawful disclosure of information as if the information had 
been collected directly by that agency.''
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Paperwork Reduction Act Statement

    The EEOC intends to submit to OMB a request for a three-year PRA 
approval of a revised EEO-1. The revised EEO-1 data collection has two 
components. The first component (Component 1) will collect information 
identical to that collected by the currently approved EEO-1. The second 
component (Component 2) will collect data on employees' W-2 pay and 
hours worked. Component 1 can be found at http://www.eeoc.gov/employers/eeo1survey/upload/eeo1-2.pdf. An illustration of the data to 
be collected by both Components 1 and 2 can be found at http://www.eeoc.gov/employers/eeo1survey/2016_new_survey.cfm.
    For the 2016 reporting cycle, EEO-1 filers would only submit the 
Component 1 data. Beginning with the 2017 reporting cycle, the EEOC 
proposes to

[[Page 5119]]

require EEO-1 filers with 100 or more employees to submit Component 2 
data in addition to Component 1 data. However, contractor filers with 
50 to 99 employees will only submit Component 1 data.

2016 Overview of Information Collection--Component 1

    Collection Title: Employer Information Report (EEO-1).
    OMB Control Number: 3046-0007.
    Frequency of Report: Annual.
    Description of Affected Public: Private industry filers with 100 or 
more employees and federal government contractor filers with 50 or more 
employees.
    Number of Respondents: 67,146.
    Reporting Hours: 228,296.4.
    Respondent Burden Hour Cost: $5,531,621.77.
    Federal Cost: $1,330,821.
    Number of Forms: 1.
    Form Number: EEOC Form 100.

2017 and 2018 Overview of Information Collection--Components 1 and 2

    Collection Title: Employer Information Report (EEO-1).
    OMB Control Number: 3046-0007.
    Frequency of Report: Annual.
    Number of Forms: 1.
    Form Number: EEOC Form 100.
    Federal Cost: $318,000 for one-time costs and $1,621,300 \54\ for 
recurring staffing costs.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \54\ The addition of W-2 pay data to the EEO-1 is expected to 
increase EEOC's internal staffing costs by approximately $290,478. 
The annual federal cost figure of $1,621,300 includes both the 
increase in contract costs resulting from the addition of the pay 
data collection and the estimated internal staffing costs. It 
reflects an increase of more than $290,478 compared to the estimated 
federal costs provided in previously published Federal Register 
notices seeking PRA approval of this information collection because 
past estimates reflected the cost of the contract with the vendor 
whose services the EEOC procures to assist with administration and 
processing of the EEO-1 but did not include EEOC's internal staffing 
costs associated with processing the EEO-1.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Component 1 (Demographic and Job Category Data)
    Description of Affected Public: In 2017 and 2018, contractor filers 
with 50 to 99 employees will submit only the demographic and job 
category data collected by Component 1.
    Number of Respondents: 6,260.
    Reporting Hours: 21,284.
    Respondent Burden Hour Cost: $515,711.32.
Components 1 and 2 (Demographic and Job Category Data Plus Pay and 
Hours-Worked Data)
    Description of Affected Public: In 2017 and 2018, EEO-1 filers with 
100 or more employees will submit pay and hours-worked data under 
Component 2 in addition to the demographic and job category data under 
Component 1.
    Number of Respondents: 60,886.
    Reporting Hours: 401,847.6.
    Respondent Burden Hour Cost: $9,736,767.35.

PRA Burden Statement

2016: Component 1
    Burden Statement: In 2016, all EEO-1 filers will submit only 
Component 1, which includes the data collected by the currently 
approved EEO-1. The estimated number of respondents required to submit 
the annual EEO-1 survey is 67,146.\55\ This data collection is 
estimated to impose 228,296.4 burden hours in 2016 or 3.4 hours per 
filer.\56\ See Table 3. The estimated burden is based on electronic, 
rather than paper filing, which significantly reduces the survey 
burden.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \55\ In 2014, 67,146 firms filed EEO-1 reports.
    \56\ In 2014, all but three reporting firms submitted 
electronic, rather than paper survey responses. These burden 
estimates assume that virtually all respondents will continue to 
file electronically.

                                   Table 3--Annual Burden--2016 (Component 1)
 [All EEO-1 filers: Private industry employers with 100 or more employees and Federal Government contractors and
                              first-tier subcontractors with 50 or more employees]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                  Annual burden                    Total annual                    Total burden
                                      hours          Filers        burden hours      Wage rate       hour cost
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reading instructions...........             0.5          67,146         33,573            $24.23     $813,473.79
Collecting, verifying,                      2.9          67,146        194,723.4           24.23    4,718,147.98
 validating and reporting data.
                                --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total......................             3.4          67,146        228,296.4  ..............    5,531,621.77
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2017 and 2018: Components 1 and 2
    Burden Statement--Component 1 Only: Starting in 2017, the estimated 
number of annual respondents who are contractor filers with 50 to 99 
employees is 6,260.\57\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \57\ Of the 67,146 firms that filed EEO-1 reports in 2014, 6,260 
were federal contractor filers with fewer than 100 employees.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The burden on these contractor filers is estimated as follows:
     Annual Burden Calculation: The estimated total annual 
burden hours required to complete Component 1 of the EEO-1 data 
collection in 2017 and 2018 is 21,284, with an associated total annual 
burden hour cost of $515,711.32.\58\ See Table 4.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \58\ This estimate is calculated as follows: 3.4 hours per 
respondent x 6,260 respondents = 21,284 hours x $24.23 per hour = 
$515,711.32. See Bureau of Labor Statistics in the publication 
``Employer Costs for Employee Compensation'' (December 2013), which 
lists total compensation for administrative support as $24.23 per 
hour, http://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/ecec_03122014.htm 
(last accessed September 23, 2014).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Burden Statement--Components 1 and 2: Starting in 2017, the 
estimated number of annual respondents that will submit Components 1 
and 2 is 60,886 private industry and contractor filers. Filers required 
to complete both Components 1 and 2 are estimated to incur 401,847.6 
burden hours annually or 6.6 hours per filer. The estimated burden is 
based on electronic, rather than paper, filing, which significantly 
reduces the survey burden.
    The burden imposed on all private industry employer filers and 
contractor filers with 100 or more employees as a result of the 
proposed collection of W-2 pay data is estimated as follows:
     Annual Burden Calculation: The estimated total annual 
burden hours needed for filers to report demographic and W-2 pay data 
via Components 1 and 2 of the revised EEO-1 Report is 401,847.6, with 
an associated total annual burden hour cost of $9,736,767.35. This 
burden estimate includes reading instructions and collecting, merging, 
validating, and reporting the data electronically.\59\ See Table 4.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \59\ This estimate is calculated as follows: 6.6 hours per 
respondent x 60,886 respondents = 401,847.6 hours x $24.23 per hour 
= $9,736,767.35. See Bureau of Labor Statistics in the publication 
``Employer Costs for Employee Compensation'' (December 2013), which 
lists total compensation for administrative support as $24.23 per 
hour, http://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/ecec_03122014.htm 
(last accessed September 23, 2014).

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

[[Page 5120]]

     One-Time Implementation Burden: The estimated one-time 
implementation burden hour cost for submitting the information required 
by Component 2 of the revised EEO-1 Report is $23,000,295.\60\ This 
calculation is based on the one-time cost for developing queries 
related to Component 2 in an existing human resources information 
system, which is estimated to take 8 hours per filer at a wage rate of 
$47.22 per hour.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \60\ This is estimate is calculated as follows: 8 hours per 
respondent x 60,886 employers = 487,088 x $47.22 per hour = 
$23,000,295. See Bureau of Labor Statistics in the publication 
``Employer Costs for Employee Compensation'' (December 2013), which 
lists total compensation for a professional as $47.22 per hour, 
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/ecec_03122014.htm (last 
accessed September 23, 2014).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Further, the EEOC estimates that the addition of W-2 pay data to 
the EEO-1 will raise its internal staffing cost by $290,478 due to the 
increased staff time needed to process the additional data.

                                     Table 4--Annual Burdens--2017 and 2018
                               [Revised EEO-1 Data Collection--Components 1 and 2]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                   Total annual
         Annual burden           Annual burden       Filers        Total annual      Wage rate      burden hour
                                     hours                         burden hours                        cost
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                Component 1 Only
                                    Contractor filers with 50 to 99 employees
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reading instructions..........              0.5           6,260           3130            $24.23      $75,839.90
Collecting, verifying,                      2.9           6,260         18,154             24.23      439,871.42
 validating and reporting data
                               ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total Annual Burden for                 3.4           6,260         21,284    ..............      515,711.32
     Filers Submitting
     Component 1..............
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                               Components 1 and 2
          All private industry employer filers, as well as contractor filers with 100 or more employees
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reading instructions..........              1            60,886         60,886             24.23    1,475,268
Collecting, verifying,                      5.6          60,886        340,961.6           24.23    8,261,499.35
 validating and reporting data
                               ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total Annual Burden for                 6.6          60,886        401,847.6  ..............    9,736,767.35
     Filers Submitting
     Components 1 and 2.......
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                         Total Annual Burden--All Filers
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total for Revised EEO-1...  ...............          67,146        423,131.6  ..............   10,252,478.67
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The reporting hour burden calculations in this notice reflect a 
departure from the manner in which the EEOC traditionally has estimated 
reporting burden. In the past, the EEOC estimated the reporting hour 
burden based on the number of total cells in the report(s) that a firm 
had to complete. This approach viewed each report filed by a firm as a 
separate reporting requirement, analogous to a paper report. In 
reporting year 2014, however, the number of paper reports declined to 
just three. In addition, employers now rely extensively on automated 
HRIS to generate the information they submit on the EEO-1 report.\61\ 
As a result, each additional report filed has just a marginal 
additional cost.\62\ To accurately reflect the manner in which 
employers now collect and submit the data for filing, the estimated 
reporting burden set forth in this notice is calculated per firm, 
rather than per report. This burden calculation is based on the time 
spent on the tasks involved in filing the survey, rather than on ``key 
strokes'' or data entry. As such, it more accurately reflects how 
virtually all employers actually complete the EEO-1 and the EEOC's 
practice of providing filers alternative methods for filing their 
reports such as data uploads using various formats and online filing.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \61\ Surveys have shown that more than 90 percent of human 
resource departments operate with some form of computerized HRIS. 
See Public Personnel Management, Volume 39, No. 3, Fall 2010.
    \62\ In fact, a number of firms file by uploading a data file so 
that the information goes nearly directly from an electronic file 
generated by the HRIS to the survey data base. In 2014, 1,449 firms 
filed EEO-1 reports by uploading a data file, accounting for 704,654 
of the EEO-1 reports filed in that year.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The EEOC seeks employer input on this burden calculation. The EEOC 
reviewed OFCCP's ANPRM and NPRM and the public comments relating to the 
burden calculation for OFCCP's proposal to collect pay data and 
consulted with OFCCP about burden estimates.\63\ The Pilot Study 
approached some private employers to seek data about the possible cost 
of collecting pay information but few employers responded, and the 
employers that did respond did not provide quantitative feedback. The 
EEOC encourages employers, in their comments responding to paragraph 2 
in the ``Solicitation of Public Comment'' section below, to provide: 
(1) Quantitative information about the burden associated with 
completing the currently approved EEO-1, as well as the anticipated 
estimated burden to also submit pay and hours-worked data, and (2) data 
regarding the estimated time that staff will spend to report the 
employer's pay and hours-worked data and the corresponding wage rates 
for that staff.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \63\ OFCCP plans to utilize EEO-1 pay data for federal 
contractors with 100 or more employees instead of implementing a 
separate compensation data survey as outlined in its August 8, 2014, 
NPRM.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Solicitation of Public Comment: Pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, and OMB regulation 5 CFR 
1320.8(d)(1), the Commission solicits public comment to enable it to:
    1. Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is 
necessary for the proper performance of the Commission's functions, 
including

[[Page 5121]]

whether the information will have practical utility;
    2. Improve the accuracy of the Commission's estimate of the burden 
of the proposed collection of information, including the validity of 
the methodology and assumptions used;
    3. Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to 
be collected; and
    4. Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those 
who are required to respond, including the use of appropriate 
automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting 
electronic submission of responses.
Conclusion
    This notice summarizes the EEOC's proposal to submit a revised EEO-
1 to OMB for 3-year PRA approval to require private employer filers, as 
well as most federal government contractor filers, to submit data on 
employee pay starting with the 2017 reporting cycle. This data 
collection would meet the statistical needs of both the EEOC and OFCCP. 
It would also enable employers to self-assess their pay practices and 
policies and thereby support voluntary compliance. In developing this 
PRA proposal, the EEOC has balanced enforcement objectives with the 
burden and confidentiality concerns of respondents.

    Dated: January 21, 2016.

    For the Commission.
Jenny R. Yang,
Chair.
[FR Doc. 2016-01544 Filed 1-29-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6570-01-P



                                                                             Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 20 / Monday, February 1, 2016 / Notices                                                     5113

                                               can view this document, as well as all                  EEOC solicits public comment on the                   available hard copies of all comments,
                                               other documents of this Department                      utility and burden of collecting pay and              by advance appointment only, between
                                               published in the Federal Register, in                   hours-worked data through the EEO–1                   the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern
                                               text or Adobe Portable Document                         data collection process.                              Time. To schedule an appointment to
                                               Format (PDF). To use PDF you must                       DATES: Written comments on this notice                inspect the comments at the EEOC’s
                                               have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is                     must be submitted on or before April 1,               library, contact the library staff at (202)
                                               available free at the site.                             2016.                                                 663–4630 (voice) or (202) 663–4641
                                                 You may also access documents of the                     Pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 2000e–8(c), a                (TTY). (These are not toll-free numbers.)
                                               Department published in the Federal                     public hearing concerning the proposed                   For reference when commenting on
                                               Register by using the article search                    changes to the EEO–1 will be held at a                this notice, the current EEO–1 (and
                                               feature at: www.federalregister.gov.                    place and time to be announced. To                    proposed Component 1) can be found at
                                               Specifically, through the advanced                      request an opportunity to present your                http://www.eeoc.gov/employers/
                                               search feature at this site, you can limit              views orally at the hearing, please                   eeo1survey/upload/eeo1-2.pdf. An
                                               your search to documents published by                   submit a written request to the EEOC’s                illustration of the data to be collected by
                                               the Department.                                         Executive Secretariat (street address                 both Components 1 and 2 can be found
                                                 Dated: January 26, 2016.                              below) no later than February 22, 2016                at http://www.eeoc.gov/employers/
                                               Lynn B. Mahaffie,                                       to be assured of consideration. Please                eeo1survey/2016_new_survey.cfm.
                                               Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy,                  include your contact information.                     FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
                                               Planning, and Innovation Delegated the                  ADDRESSES: Comments on this notice                    Ronald Edwards, Director, Program
                                               Duties of the Assistant Secretary for                   may be submitted to the EEOC in three                 Research and Surveys Division, Equal
                                               Postsecondary Education.                                ways; please use only one.                            Employment Opportunity Commission,
                                               [FR Doc. 2016–01746 Filed 1–29–16; 8:45 am]                Comments and attachments may be                    131 M Street NE., Room 4SW30F,
                                               BILLING CODE 4000–01–P                                  submitted online at http://                           Washington, DC 20507; (202) 663–4949
                                                                                                       www.regulations.gov, which is the                     (voice) or (202) 663–7063 (TTY).
                                                                                                       Federal eRulemaking Portal. Follow the                Requests for this notice in an alternative
                                               EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY                            instructions on the Web site for                      format should be made to the Office of
                                               COMMISSION                                              submitting comments. Comments                         Communications and Legislative Affairs
                                                                                                       received here will be posted publicly on              at (202) 663–4191 (voice) or (202) 663–
                                               [3046–0007]                                             the same portal without change,                       4494 (TTY).
                                               Agency Information Collection                           including any personal information you                SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
                                               Activities: Revision of the Employer                    provide. However, the EEOC reserves
                                                                                                                                                             The EEO–1 Survey and Its Legal
                                               Information Report (EEO–1) and                          the right to refrain from posting
                                                                                                                                                             Authority
                                               Comment Request                                         comments, including those that contain
                                                                                                       obscene, indecent, or profane language;                  Section 709(c) of Title VII of the Civil
                                               AGENCY:  Equal Employment                               that contain threats or defamatory                    Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII) requires
                                               Opportunity Commission.                                 statements; that contain hate speech                  employers to make and keep records
                                               ACTION: Proposed revision of the                        directed at race, color, sex, sexual                  relevant to the determination of whether
                                               employer information report (EEO–1)                     orientation, national origin, ethnicity,              unlawful employment practices have
                                               and comment request.                                    age, religion, or disability; or that                 been or are being committed, to preserve
                                                                                                       promote or endorse services or                        such records, and to produce reports as
                                               SUMMARY:   In accordance with the                       products.                                             the Commission prescribes by
                                               Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), the                         Hard copy comments and all requests                regulation or order.1 Pursuant to this
                                               Equal Employment Opportunity                            to participate in the hearing may be                  statutory authority, the EEOC in 1966
                                               Commission (EEOC or Commission)                         submitted to Bernadette Wilson, Acting                issued a regulation requiring certain
                                               announces that it intends to submit to                  Executive Officer, Executive Secretariat,             employers to file executed copies of the
                                               the Office of Management and Budget                     Equal Employment Opportunity                          EEO–1 survey in conformity with the
                                               (OMB) a request for a three-year PRA                    Commission, 131 M Street NE.,                         directions and instructions on the form,
                                               approval of a revised Employer                          Washington, DC 20507.                                 which called for reporting employee
                                               Information Report (EEO–1) data                            The Executive Secretariat also will                data by job category, ethnicity, race, and
                                               collection. This revised data collection                accept documents totaling six or fewer                sex.2 Pursuant to Executive Order
                                               has two components. Component 1                         pages by facsimile (‘‘fax’’) machine. This            11246,3 the Office of Federal Contract
                                               collects the same data that is gathered                 limitation is necessary to assure access              Compliance Programs (OFCCP), U.S.
                                               by the currently approved EEO–1:                        to the equipment. The telephone                       Department of Labor (DOL), in 1978
                                               Specifically, data about employees’                     number of the fax receiver is (202) 663–              issued its regulation describing the
                                               ethnicity, race, and sex, by job category.              4114. (This is not a toll-free number.)               EEO–1 as a report ‘‘promulgated jointly
                                               Component 2 collects data on                            Receipt of fax transmittals will not be               with the Equal Employment
                                               employees’ W–2 earnings and hours                       acknowledged, except that the sender                  Opportunity Commission’’ and
                                               worked, which EEO–1 filers already                      may request confirmation of receipt by                requiring certain contractors to submit
                                               maintain in the ordinary course of                      calling the Executive Secretariat staff at            ‘‘complete and accurate reports’’
                                               business. For the 2016 reporting cycle,                 (202) 663–4070 (voice) or (202) 663–                  annually.4 Through the EEO–1 Joint
                                               all EEO–1 filers would submit the data                  4074 (TTY). (These are not toll-free                  Reporting Committee housed at the
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                                               under Component 1. Starting in 2017,                    telephone numbers.)
                                               filers with 100 or more employees (both                    Subject to the conditions noted above,               1 42 U.S.C. 2000e–8(c).
                                                                                                                                                               2 The EEOC’s EEO–1 regulation is at 29 part 1602
                                               private industry and Federal contractor)                the EEOC will post online at http://
                                                                                                                                                             Subpart B. The EEOC is responsible for obtaining
                                               would submit data in response to both                   www.regulations.gov all comments                      OMB’s PRA approval for the EEO–1 report.
                                               Components 1 and 2. Contractors with                    submitted in hard copy or by fax with                   3 Exec. Order No. 11,246, 30 FR 12,319 (Sept. 24,
                                               50 to 99 employees would only submit                    the Executive Secretariat. The EEOC                   1965).
                                               data for Component 1. In this notice, the               Headquarters’ library also will make                    4 41 CFR 60–1.7(a).




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                                               5114                           Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 20 / Monday, February 1, 2016 / Notices

                                               EEOC, the EEO–1 is administered as a                       Adding Pay Data to the EEO–1                           Following the NAS Report
                                               single data collection to meet the                            In 1964, Congress enacted Title VII of            recommendation, the EEOC
                                               statistical needs of both agencies.5                       the Civil Rights Act, as amended, 42                 commissioned an independent Pilot
                                               Currently, the EEO–1 directs certain                       U.S.C. 2000e, et seq., (Title VII), which            Study to identify the most efficient
                                               covered employers with more than 50                        makes unlawful a wide range of                       means to collect pay data. The Pilot
                                               employees (contractors) or 100                             discriminatory employment practices,                 Study, completed in September 2015,
                                               employees (private industry) 6 to report                   including pay discrimination, because                assisted the EEOC in formulating this
                                               annually the number of individuals they                    of race, color, religion, national origin,           proposal and will guide the
                                               employ by job category and by race,                        or sex. The EEOC is responsible for                  development of analytic techniques to
                                               ethnicity, and sex.7 The data include                      enforcing Title VII and other federal                make full use of the data to be
                                               seven race and ethnicity categories 8 and                  laws prohibiting employment                          collected.15 The Pilot Study considered
                                               ten job categories,9 by sex. A sample                      discrimination, including the Equal Pay              a variety of statistical approaches that
                                               copy of the currently approved EEO–1                       Act of 1963.10 The Equal Pay Act                     could be used to detect pay differences
                                               can be found at http://www.eeoc.gov/                       prohibits sex-based wage discrimination              between groups and then tested these
                                               employers/eeo1survey/upload/eeo1-                          between men and women if they work                   approaches by applying them to
                                               2.pdf.                                                     in the same establishment and perform                synthetic pay data 16 in order to identify
                                                                                                          jobs that require substantially equal                their strengths and weaknesses.17
                                                  5 The EEOC shares EEO–1 data with state and             skill, effort, and responsibility under              Ultimately, the Pilot Study made
                                               local Fair Employment Practices Agencies under             similar working conditions.11 OFCCP                  technical recommendations about
                                               the authority of section 709(d) of Title VII. Subject      enforces Executive Order 11246, as                   several central components of a data
                                               to their agreement to comply with the                      amended, which prohibits                             collection, including: The unit of pay to
                                               confidentiality provisions of 42 U.S.C. 2000e–8(e),                                                             be collected; the best summary
                                               the EEOC shares EEO–1 reports with the                     discrimination, including compensation
                                               Department of Justice (DOJ), the Federal Deposit           discrimination, based on race, color,                measures of central tendency and
                                               Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the National             religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender            dispersion for rates of pay; appropriate
                                               Credit Union Administration (NCUA). The FDIC               identity, or religion.12                             statistical test(s) for analyzing pay data;
                                               and the NCUA use EEO–1 data pursuant to the                                                                     and the most efficient and least costly
                                               Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer
                                                                                                             In 2010, the EEOC joined other federal
                                               Protection Act of 2010 to help analyze diversity in        agencies, including the DOL, as                      methods for transmitting pay data from
                                               management, employment, and business activities.           members of the President’s National                  employers. The Pilot Study also
                                               DOJ uses the EEO–1 data when it defends OFCCP              Equal Pay Task Force to identify ways                estimated employer burden-hour costs
                                               in litigation, in the event a federal contractor sues                                                           and the processing costs associated with
                                               OFCCP to prevent debarment.
                                                                                                          to improve enforcement of federal laws
                                                  6 Unless otherwise noted, the term ‘‘contractor’’       prohibiting pay discrimination. The                  the recommended method of collection.
                                               refers to federal contractors and first-tier               Task Force recommended, among other                    Separately, the EEOC sought input
                                               subcontractors that satisfy the employee and               things, that the EEOC engage the                     about updating all the EEO surveys,
                                               contract size coverage criteria that subject them to       National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to                including adding pay data, when its
                                               the EEO–1 reporting obligations. The term ‘‘private
                                               industry’’ refers to all other entities required to file
                                                                                                          conduct a study assessing how to most                staff held a two-day meeting in March
                                               the EEO–1 that are not included in the ‘‘contractor’’      effectively collect pay data to support its          2012 with employer representatives,
                                               designation. The term ‘‘employer’’ or ‘‘filer’’ refers     wage discrimination law enforcement                  statisticians, human resources
                                               collectively to all entities that file EEO–1 data.         efforts. The EEOC accordingly                        information systems (HRIS) experts, and
                                                  7 The EEO–1 uses federal race and ethnic
                                                                                                          commissioned a study, and the NAS                    information technology specialists
                                               categories, which were adopted by the Commission
                                               in 2005 and implemented in 2007, pursuant to the           convened a Panel on Measuring and
                                               PRA.                                                       Collecting Pay Information from U.S.                    15 ‘‘EEOC Pay Pilot Study,’’ September, 2015,

                                                  8 Hispanic or Latino—A person of Cuban,                 Employers by Gender, Race, and                       Sage Computing. Available at: http://www.eeoc.gov/
                                               Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American,                                                               employers/eeo1survey/pay-pilot-study.pdf.
                                                                                                          National Origin. This Panel’s August 15,                16 Two ‘‘synthetic’’ data bases were used. The first
                                               or other Spanish culture or origin regardless of race.     2012, report (NAS Report) 13 recognized
                                                  White (Not Hispanic or Latino)—A person having                                                               synthetic data base used data from the auto parts
                                               origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the
                                                                                                          the potential value for enforcement of               manufacturing industry and the Occupation
                                               Middle East, or North Africa.                              collecting pay data from employers by                Employment Statistics (OES) as well as EEO–1 data
                                                                                                          sex, race, and national origin through a             to construct a hypothetical firm in the auto parts
                                                  Black or African American (Not Hispanic or
                                                                                                                                                               manufacturing industry. To do so, the number of
                                               Latino)—A person having origins in any of the black        survey such as the EEO–1, and                        employees by EEO–1 job groups in an average sized
                                               racial groups of Africa.                                   emphasized the importance of a                       firm was estimated. EEO–1 job groups were then
                                                  Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander (Not
                                               Hispanic or Latino)—A person having origins in
                                                                                                          definitive plan for how the data would               mapped to the Standard Occupational Classification
                                                                                                          be used in coordination with other                   (SOC) categories in the OES data. Using OES
                                               any of the peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or                                                                   statistics on the distribution of annual wages within
                                               other Pacific Islands.                                     equal employment opportunity (EEO)                   SOC categories, the likely wages for EEO–1 job
                                                  Asian (Not Hispanic or Latino)—A person having          enforcement agencies. The NAS Report                 groups in an average firm were generated. These
                                               origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East,    also recommended that the EEOC                       samples represent typical or representative wages,
                                               Southeast Asia, or the Indian Subcontinent,                                                                     not actual wages, for auto parts employees. See
                                               including, for example, Cambodia, China, India,
                                                                                                          conduct a pilot to inform the parameters
                                                                                                                                                               Pilot Study, page 79. The second data base used
                                               Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine           for any pay data collection.14                       data extracts from Current Population Survey (CPS)
                                               Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam.                                                                                 data (downloaded from http://cps.ipums.org. March
                                                  American Indian or Alaska Native (Not Hispanic            10 29  U.S.C. 206(d).                              CPS Annual Social and Economic Supplement).
                                               or Latino)—A person having origins in any of the             11 Id. Enforcement of the Equal Pay Act was        The data were downloaded from the International
                                               original peoples of North and South America                transferred from the DOL to the EEOC in 1978. 5      Public Use Microdata Series Web site for the 2010
                                               (including Central America), and who maintain              USCA APP. 1 REORG. PLAN 1 1978.                      to 2014 period. (King, M., S. Ruggles, J.T.
                                               tribal affiliation or community attachment.                   12 See Department of Labor, Office of Federal     Alexander, S. Flood, K. Genadek, M.B. Schroeder,
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                                                  Two or More Races (Not Hispanic or Latino)—All          Contractor Compliance Programs, Exec. Order          B. Trampe, and R. Vick. 2010. Integrated Public Use
                                               persons who identify with more than one of the             11246 as amended, http://www.dol.gov/ofccp/regs/     Microdata Series, Current Population Survey:
                                               above five races.                                          statutes/eo11246.htm.                                Version 3.0. [Machine-readable database].
                                                  9 The ten job groups are: Executive/Senior Level           13 National Research Council. 2012. Collecting    Minneapolis: University of Minnesota.) See Pilot
                                               Officials and Managers; First/Mid Level Officials          Compensation Data From Employers. Washington,        Study, page 56.
                                               and Managers; Professionals; Technicians; Sales            DC: National Academies Press, 8. Available at           17 Synthetic pay data was used because

                                               Workers; Administrative Support Workers; Craft             http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_              conducting a test survey of nine or more companies
                                               Workers; Operatives; Laborers and Helpers; Service         id=13496.                                            would require PRA approval. 44 U.S.C.
                                               Workers.                                                      14 Id. at 87–88.                                  3502(3)(A)(i).



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                                                                              Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 20 / Monday, February 1, 2016 / Notices                                                       5115

                                               (work group). The work group reviewed                     and rule argued for, among other things,             contractors that are subject to the EEO–
                                               the current data collection procedures,                   the need to improve interagency                      1 reporting requirement and that have
                                               provided feedback on future                               coordination and decrease employer                   between 50 and 99 employees will
                                               modernization of the EEO surveys, and                     burden for reporting compensation data               continue to submit the same
                                               engaged in brainstorming that led to                      by using the EEO–1, rather than a new                information that is collected by the
                                               ideas submitted individually by group                     OFCCP data collection, as well as the                current EEO–1 report (Component 1).
                                               participants on a number of topics,                       need to protect privacy and data                     They will not be required to submit pay
                                               including collecting pay data as well as                  confidentiality. The instant proposal                and hours-worked data. A sample copy
                                               multiple-race category data on the EEO–                   responds to these concerns.23 Similarly,             of the currently approved EEO–1 report
                                               1. Employer stakeholders expressed                        the NAS Report recommended that the                  provides an illustration of the data to be
                                               concern about the importance of                           federal EEO enforcement agencies                     collected by Component 1. It can be
                                               maintaining the confidentiality of any                    develop a coordinated plan for using                 found at http://www.eeoc.gov/
                                               individual filer’s pay data even if pay                   compensation data. In the course of                  employers/eeo1survey/upload/eeo1-
                                               data were only published in aggregated                    developing this EEO–1 proposal, the                  2.pdf. An illustration of the data to be
                                               form.18 The work group report 19 reflects                 EEOC and OFCCP together consulted                    collected by both Components 1 and 2
                                               feedback from participants that the                       with the Department of Justice, focusing             can be found at http://www.eeoc.gov/
                                               burden of reporting pay data would be                     on how EEO–1 pay data would be used                  employers/eeo1survey/2016_new_
                                               minimal for EEO–1 filers.                                 to assess complaints of discrimination,              survey.cfm.
                                                  On April 8, 2014, the Presidential                     focus investigations, and identify
                                               Memorandum, ‘‘Advancing Pay Equality                                                                           When Annual EEO–1 Reports Will Be
                                                                                                         employers with existing pay disparities              Due and How Employers Will Submit
                                               Through Compensation Data                                 that might warrant further examination.
                                               Collection’’ was issued. It directed the                                                                       Data
                                                                                                         The EEOC and OFCCP plan to develop
                                               Secretary of Labor to develop a                           statistical tools that would be available               Currently, employers must collect
                                               compensation data collection                              to staff on their computers, to utilize the          EEO–1 data from any pay period
                                               proposal.20 OFCCP issued a Notice of                      EEO–1 pay data for these purposes.                   occurring in the months of July through
                                               Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on                             They also anticipate developing                      September of the current survey year.
                                               August 8, 2014, proposing to amend one                    software tools and guidance for                      The EEO–1 must be filed by September
                                               of its implementing regulations for                       stakeholders to support analysis of                  30th of the same year. These deadlines
                                               Executive Order 11246 to add a                            aggregated EEO–1 data. Finally, the                  would continue after the addition of pay
                                               requirement that certain federal                          EEOC and OFCCP anticipate that the                   data, to minimize employers’ burden by
                                               contractors submit compensation data                      process of reporting pay data may                    folding the new collection into long-
                                               reports to OFCCP.21 Under the NPRM,                       encourage employers to self-monitor                  established deadlines. As explained
                                               OFCCP also proposed a sample of an                        and comply voluntarily if they uncover               below regarding the utility and burden
                                               Equal Pay Report for collecting this                      pay inequities.                                      of using W–2 data to describe pay,
                                               data.22                                                     The following discussion explains the              requiring filers to report W–2 data as of
                                                  Public comments submitted to OFCCP                     justification for each component of the              a pay period occurring in the months of
                                               about the proposed Equal Pay Report                       proposed EEO–1 pay data collection. As               July through September should not be
                                                                                                         stated above, this proposal does not                 burdensome given the capabilities of
                                                  18 For example, reporting the average pay for
                                                                                                         compel employers to collect new data                 HRIS software.
                                               Hispanic or Latino women who are Executive/
                                                                                                         but rather requires the reporting of pay                Beginning in 2017, all filers will be
                                               Senior Level Officials and Managers, if there are                                                              required to submit the proposed EEO–
                                               few Hispanic or Latino women in that job group,           data that employers maintain in the
                                               may effectively reveal the pay of individual              normal course of business. This notice               1 report electronically. Automated
                                               employees. To allay these concerns, the EEOC
                                                                                                         proposes a collection that will maximize             electronic data collection promotes the
                                               intends to re-examine the rules for testing statistical
                                                                                                         the utility of the pay data while                    utility of the EEO–1 survey by reducing
                                               confidentiality for publishing aggregate data to                                                               the number of inadvertent human errors
                                               make certain that tables with small cell-counts are       balancing respondent concerns about
                                               not made public.                                                                                               in the data. Electronic data collection
                                                                                                         confidentiality and the burden of the
                                                  19 ‘‘EEOC Survey System Modernization Work                                                                  also is less burdensome for employers
                                                                                                         collection.
                                               Group Meeting, Draft Report,’’ March 19, 2012, Sage                                                            than assigning staff to complete the
                                               Computing. Available at: http://www.eeoc.gov/             Proposal To Add Pay Data to the                      survey. As of 2014, all but three of the
                                               employers/eeo1survey/survey-modernization.pdf.
                                                  20 Presidential Documents, Memorandum of April
                                                                                                         EEO–1                                                67,146 EEO–1 filers already used
                                               8, 2014, ‘‘Advancing Pay Equality Through                                                                      electronic data submission.24 Any EEO–
                                                                                                         Who Will Report Pay Data and When
                                               Compensation Data Collection,’’ Memorandum for                                                                 1 filer seeking an exemption from this
                                               the Secretary of Labor, April 11, 2014 (79 FR             This Reporting Requirement Will Start
                                                                                                                                                              electronic requirement may use the
                                               20751).                                                     For the 2016 EEO–1 reporting cycle,
                                                  21 Government Contractors, Requirement to
                                                                                                                                                              existing EEO–1 process for seeking
                                                                                                         to ease the transition, all employers will           special reporting procedures.25
                                               Report Summary Data on Employee Compensation,
                                               79 FR 46563 (August 8, 2014). This NPRM provided          submit information that is identical to
                                               detailed explanations for the design of the Equal         the information collected by the                       24 The remaining three filers submitted hard copy

                                               Pay Survey, which utilized W–2 information as a           currently approved EEO–1 (Component                  reports.
                                               measure of wages and reported cumulative wages.           1). Starting in 2017, employers that are               25 The EEO–1 instructions provide that ‘‘[a]n
                                               It did not use pay bands like Component 2 of the                                                               employer who claims that preparation or the filing
                                               currently proposed EEO–1. In 2011, OFCCP had              subject to the EEO–1 reporting                       of Standard Form 100 would create undue hardship
                                               issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking           requirement and that have 100 or more                may apply to the Commission for a special
                                               (ANPRM). Nondiscrimination in Compensation:               employees will submit the EEO–1 with                 reporting procedure. In such cases, the employer
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                                               Compensation Data Collection Tool, 79 FR 49398                                                                 must submit in writing a detailed alternative
                                               (August 10, 2011), in response to which
                                                                                                         pay and related information
                                                                                                                                                              proposal for compiling and reporting information
                                               stakeholders provided extensive input and                 (Components 1 and 2). By contrast,                   to: The EEO–1 Coordinator, EEOC-Survey Division,
                                               information.                                                                                                   131 M Street NE., Washington, DC 20507. Only
                                                  22 Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs          23 OFCCP plans to utilize EEO–1 pay data for       those special procedures approved in writing by the
                                               and Office of Management and Budget, Equal Pay            federal contractors with 100 or more employees       Commission are authorized. Such authorizations
                                               Report, http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/                 instead of implementing a separate compensation      remain in effect until notification of cancellation is
                                               PRAViewIC?ref_nbr=201407-1250-                            data survey as outlined in its August 8, 2014,       given. All requests for information should be sent
                                               001&icID=212555.                                          NPRM.                                                                                            Continued




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                                               5116                          Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 20 / Monday, February 1, 2016 / Notices

                                               Component 2 of the revised EEO–1                        and the Current Employment Statistics                    increasingly important. According to a
                                               includes a request for data on the                      (CES) survey program.29 The remaining                    2014 survey of 1,064 U.S. companies,
                                               amount of employer staff time used to                   options were from the Social Security                    ‘‘91 percent of organizations offer a
                                               collect and report pay data on the EEO–                 Administration (SSA) 30 and the Internal                 variable pay program and expect to
                                               1. This will better enable the EEOC to                  Revenue Service (IRS).31                                 spend 12.7 percent of payroll on
                                               quantify the burden of this aspect of the                 Of these five options, the focus was                   variable pay for salaried exempt
                                               survey.                                                 on the relative strengths and weaknesses                 employees in 2015.’’ 34 Another recent
                                                                                                       of the OES and the W–2 definitions                       survey of companies’ bonus practices
                                               What Pay Data Will Be Collected                         because they are best known to                           found that 74 percent of respondents
                                               Measure: Total W–2 Earnings                             employers. The NAS Study                                 used a sign-on bonus program and 61
                                                  In selecting total W–2 earnings as the               recommended the use of OES’ wage                         percent used a retention bonus program
                                               measure of pay, the focus was on                        definition because it is based on                        in 2014.35
                                               maximizing utility of the EEO–1 pay                     widespread surveys,32 but the EEOC
                                                                                                       ultimately decided not to use the OES                       By contrast, the W–2 definition
                                               data while minimizing the burden on                                                                              provides a more comprehensive report
                                               employers to collect and report it. With                definition because it excludes widely-
                                                                                                       used elements of compensation such as                    of earnings at the employee level than
                                               respect to maximizing utility, the goal                                                                          the OES definition. W–2 gross income
                                               was to identify a measure of                            overtime pay, severance pay, shift
                                                                                                       differentials, nonproduction bonuses,                    includes wages, salaries, fees,
                                               compensation that encompasses as                                                                                 commissions, tips, taxable fringe
                                               much employer-paid income earned by                     year-end bonuses, holiday bonuses, and
                                                                                                       tuition reimbursement.33 These                           benefits, and elective deferrals.
                                               individuals as possible. With respect to
                                                                                                       elements of pay, however, are                            Amounts withheld for taxes, including
                                               minimizing burden, the focus was on
                                                                                                                                                                but not limited to income tax, Social
                                               finding a measure that is well-defined
                                                                                                       Overview on BLS Statistics on Pay and Benefits,          Security, and Medicare taxes, are
                                               and compatible with the data elements
                                                                                                       http://www.bls.gov/bls/wages.htm http://                 considered ‘‘received’’ and are included
                                               in employers’ existing human resources                  www.bls.gov/ncs/ncswage2010.pdf, at pp 8–9.
                                               and pay systems. Consideration also                                                                              as gross income of the given year they
                                                                                                       However, this definition does include incentive pay
                                               was given to the sample Equal Pay                       such as commissions, piece-rate payments,                are withheld.36 The W–2 encompasses
                                               Report proposed in OFCCP’s 2014                         production bonuses, cost-of- living adjustments,         all earned income, including
                                                                                                       hazard pay, payments for income deferred due to          supplemental pay components such as
                                               Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, which                    participation in a salary reduction plan, and
                                               used W–2 earnings.26                                    deadhead pay (which is paid to a driver who is
                                                                                                                                                                overtime pay, shift differentials, and
                                                  Five different measures of earnings                  driving an empty vehicle, typically when the driver      nonproduction bonuses (e.g., year-end
                                               now used by federal data collection                     is traveling to pick up a delivery or after completion   bonuses, hiring and referral bonuses,
                                                                                                       of a delivery).                                          and profit-sharing cash bonuses).37
                                               systems were considered. The first three                   29 The Current Employment Statistics (CES)
                                               were from the U.S. Bureau of Labor                      survey program is a BLS and state cooperative
                                                                                                                                                                Nonproduction bonuses account for
                                               Statistics (BLS): The Occupation                        program that produces data on earnings but not           over 11 percent of cash compensation
                                               Employment Statistics (OES); 27 the                     wages. Average hourly earnings exclude items such        for management, business, and financial
                                                                                                       as employee benefits, irregular bonuses and              operations occupations, while shift
                                               National Compensation Survey (NCS); 28                  commissions, retroactive payments, and the
                                                                                                       employers’ share of payroll taxes and therefore, do      differentials are a significant component
                                               to the address above.’’ See http://www.eeoc.gov/        not represent employers’ total compensation costs        of compensation for healthcare
                                               employers/eeo1survey/2007instructions.cfm. Any          (as calculated by the National Compensation              workers.38 A panel of HRIS experts
                                               requests would be considered by the EEO–1               Survey). See National Research Council. Collecting
                                               Coordinator, who is also responsible for issuing any
                                                                                                                                                                convened for the Pilot Study agreed that
                                                                                                       Compensation Data from Employers. National
                                               written approvals.                                      Academic Press 2013. http://www.nap.edu/                 the trend is toward paying higher-level
                                                  26 In the NPRM, OFCCP stated that it chose the       openbook.php?record_id=13496, at p. 8.                   executives in bonuses, which are
                                               W–2 definition of compensation because it accounts         30 The Social Security Administration defines

                                               for a broad range of pay elements and because           income as any payment received during a calendar            34 See Press Release, Aon Hewitt, 2014 U.S.
                                               collection of W–2 data would result in minimal          month that can be used to meet needs for food or
                                                                                                                                                                Salary Increase Survey, (Aug. 27, 2014), http://
                                               burden on contractors. 79 FR 46562 at 46576             shelter. It may be in cash or in kind (i.e., payment
                                                                                                                                                                aon.mediaroom.com/New-Aon-Hewitt-Survey-
                                               (August 8, 2014). Public comments on the NPRM           in the form of the use of a good or service, such
                                               were split on using the W–2, but EEOC and OFCCP                                                                  Shows-2014-Variable-Pay-Spending-Spikes-to-
                                                                                                       as free rent). It includes earned income and
                                               conclude that it remains the best option for the                                                                 Record-High-Level.
                                                                                                       unearned income. Examples of unearned income
                                                                                                                                                                   35 WorldatWork. ‘‘Bonus Programs and
                                               reasons stated in this section.                         include social security, interest and dividends,
                                                  27 The Occupation Employment Statistics (OES)        retirement income, unemployment benefits,                Practices.’’ Available at http://
                                               survey defines earnings to include base rate pay,       alimony, child support, and pay received for work        www.worldatwork.org/adimLink?id=75444, at p.10.
                                                                                                                                                                   36 Internal Revenue Service. 2014. ‘‘Wages,
                                               cost-of-living allowances, guaranteed pay,              while an inmate in a penal institution. See
                                               hazardous-duty pay, incentive pay such as               http://www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/ssact/title16b/               Salaries, and Other Earnings.’’ In: Internal Revenue
                                               commissions and production bonuses, tips, and on-       1612.htm.                                                Service. Your Federal Income Tax (Individuals).
                                               call pay. The OES measure excludes back pay, jury          31 The Internal Revenue Service’s W–2 definition      Available at http://www.irs.gov/publications/p17/
                                               duty pay, overtime pay, severance pay, shift            of gross income includes wages, salaries, fees,          ch05.html; and Internal Revenue Service. 2015.
                                               differentials, nonproduction bonuses, employer          commissions, tips, taxable fringe benefits, and          ‘‘What Is Earned Income?’’ Available at http://
                                               costs for supplementary benefits, and tuition           elective deferrals. Amounts withheld for taxes,          www.irs.gov/Individuals/What-is-Earned-
                                               reimbursements. See U.S. Bureau of Labor                including but not limited to income tax, Social          Income%3F.
                                               Statistics, Occupation Employment Statistics.           Security, and Medicare taxes, are considered                37 U.S. Dept. of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.

                                               http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_tec.htm. See         ‘‘received’’ and must be included in gross income        ‘‘Fact Sheet for the June 2000 Employment Cost
                                               page 4 of http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/methods_       of the given year they are withheld. See http://         Index Release.’’ Available at http://www.bls.gov/
                                               statement.pdf for the 12 wage intervals.                www.irs.gov/publications/p17/ch05.html; see also         ncs/ect/sp/ecrp0003.pdf.
                                                  28 The National Compensation Survey (NCS) is a       http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/What-is-Earned-              38 John L. Bishow, U.S. Dept. of Labor, Bureau of

                                               BLS establishment survey of employee salaries,          Income%3F.                                               Labor Statistics. ‘‘A Look at Supplemental Pay:
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                                               wages, and benefits. In this survey, ‘‘[e]arnings are      32 National Research Council, 2012, Collecting        Overtime Pay, Bonsues, and Shift Differentials.’’
                                               defined as regular payments from employers to           Compensation Data From Employers. Washington,            Available at http://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/cwc/a-
                                               their employees as compensation for straight-time       DC: National Academies Press, 8. Available at            look-at-supplemental-pay-overtime-pay-bonuses-
                                               (not overtime) hourly wages or for any salaried         http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_                  and-shift-differentials.pdf at pp 5–7. ‘‘Analysis is
                                               work performed.’’ The NCS does not include              id=13496, at p.58.                                       limited to jobs that receive positive payments—that
                                               premium pay for overtime, holidays, and weekends;          33 United States Department of Labor, Bureau of       is, those jobs that actually receive supplemental
                                               shift differentials such as night work;                 Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment                pay, as opposed to the average for all jobs—the
                                               nonproduction bonuses; tips; and uniform and tool       Statistics-Frequently Asked Questions, http://           percentage for each type of supplemental pay is
                                               allowances. See U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics,        www.bls.gov/oes/oes_ques.htm                             higher.’’



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                                                                             Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 20 / Monday, February 1, 2016 / Notices                                                               5117

                                               counted as W–2 income but are not                       could be impractical and would be                     ‘‘wage intervals’’ used by the Bureau of
                                               included in the OES definition.39                       dependent on the number of employees.                 Labor Statistics in the OES survey.44
                                                 Using the W–2 definition is less likely               Average pay by occupation would
                                               to be burdensome for most respondents                   provide limited information about                              TABLE 1—EEO–4 PAY BANDS
                                               than using the OES wage definition.                     variation. Collecting the range of pay or
                                               Federal law requires all employers to                   average pay could produce biased                                Pay bands                        Pay bands label
                                               generate W–2s for each of their                         estimates as pay is often distributed in
                                               employees. Although W–2 data may not                    a manner where a few individuals are                   1   .................................   $100–$15,999.
                                               be routinely compiled until the end of                  paid much more than others. This might                 2   .................................   $16,000–$19,999.
                                                                                                                                                              3   .................................   $20,000–$24,999.
                                               the calendar year, and EEO–1 reports                    create misleading data when ranges or                  4   .................................   $25,000–$32,999.
                                               are due on September 30th, several                      means are used as a measure. Simply                    5   .................................   $33,000–$42,999.
                                               approaches are possible. First, because                 gathering rates of pay, without standard               6   .................................   $43,000–$54,999.
                                               payroll records are cumulative,                         deviation measures, would not assist in                7   .................................   $55,000–$69,999.
                                               generating reports at any given point in                parity/disparity analysis, and asking                  8   .................................   $70,000 and over.
                                               time should not be complicated for                      employers to calculate standard
                                               employers with automated payroll                        deviations would not only be
                                               systems. The W–2 data can be imported                   burdensome but also would risk a                           TABLE 2—PROPOSED EEO—1 PAY
                                               into a HRIS, and a data field can be                    higher rate of inaccuracy.                                            BANDS
                                               established to accumulate W–2 data for                     Using pay bands appears to be more
                                               the EEO–1. Alternatively, employers                     likely to generate reliable data while                          Pay bands                        Pay bands label
                                               could obtain this pay information by                    being less burdensome for employers
                                                                                                                                                              1 .................................     $19,239 and under.
                                               utilizing quarterly payroll reports for the             than other reporting alternatives.                     2 .................................     $19,240–$24,439.
                                               previous four quarters. Employers that                  Therefore, Component 2 of the revised                  3 .................................     $24,440–$30,679.
                                               do their payroll in-house will be able to               EEO–1 will collect aggregate W–2 data                  4 .................................     $30,680–$38,999.
                                               report this data utilizing most major                   in 12 pay bands for the 10 EEO–1 job                   5 .................................     $39,000–$49,919.
                                               payroll software systems or by using off-               categories. Employers will simply count                6 .................................     $49,920–$62,919.
                                               the-shelf payroll software that is                      and report the number of employees in                  7 .................................     $62,920–$80,079.
                                               preprogrammed to compile data for                       each pay band. For example, a filer will               8 .................................     $80,080–$101,919.
                                               generating W–2s. For employers that                     report on the EEO–1 that it employs 3                  9 .................................     $101,920–$128,959.
                                               outsource their payroll, there would be                 African American women as                              10 ...............................      $128,960–$163,799.
                                                                                                                                                              11 ...............................      $163,800–$207,999.
                                               a one-time burden of writing custom                     professionals in the highest pay band.
                                                                                                                                                              12 ...............................      $208,000 and over.
                                               programs to import the data from their                  As to data utility, pay bands will allow
                                               payroll companies into their HRIS                       the EEOC to compute within-job-
                                               systems.                                                                                                      Hours Worked
                                                                                                       category variation, across-job-category
                                                                                                       variation, and overall variation, which                 Consistent with the recommendations
                                               Organizing and Reporting W–2 Data
                                                                                                       would support the EEOC’s ability to                   of the Pilot Study, Component 2 of the
                                                  In determining how employers would                   discern potential discrimination while                revised EEO–1 will collect the total
                                               be required to organize and report their                preserving confidentiality.42 At the                  number of hours worked by the
                                               employees’ W–2 data, the focus was on                   same time, pay bands would not require                employees included in each EEO–1 pay
                                               collectability, burden, confidentiality,                the computation of mean earnings or a                 band cell. This data will allow analysis
                                               and data utility.40 The NAS Report and                  measure of variance as alternative                    of pay differences while considering
                                               the Pilot Study reviewed various                        approaches might, thus avoiding a                     aggregate variations in hours. The total
                                               alternative approaches for reporting                    source of employer burden. Finally, as                hours worked also will permit an
                                               compensation, which ranged from                         distinguished from mean earnings, pay                 analysis that accounts for periods when
                                               highly detailed to general. Of these                    bands can effectively use statistical tests           the employees were not employed, thus
                                               alternatives, the most comprehensive                    that do not rely on an assumption that                reflecting part-time work.45
                                               collection proposals required collecting                pay is normally distributed.
                                               data at the individual employee level                      By choosing to use pay bands, the                    The EEOC seeks employer input with
                                               and would have included human capital                   EEOC also is adopting a methodology                   respect to how to report hours worked
                                               qualifications data as well as pay data.                that will limit employer burden. HRIS                 for salaried employees. One approach
                                               Although these options would reduce                     software developers already are familiar              would be for employers to use an
                                               ambiguity and help assess the existence                 with using pay bands on the EEO–4                     estimate of 40 hours per week for full-
                                               of potential discrimination, they also                  survey, which collects pay data from                  time salaried workers. The EEOC is not
                                               raise significant confidentiality and                   state and local government employers.43               proposing to require an employer to
                                               burden concerns.41                                      By choosing to use pay bands for the                  begin collecting additional data on
                                                  Options for collecting aggregate pay                 EEO–1, the EEOC and OFCCP will allow                  actual hours worked for salaried
                                               data include using pay rates (calculated                HRIS software developers to build on                  workers, to the extent that the employer
                                               by employer), range of pay with a                       their existing experience with the EEO–               does not currently maintain such
                                               maximum and minimum provided by                         4. Consistent with the recommendations
                                               employer, total pay, and average or                     of the Pilot Study, however, the EEO–                    44 See Survey Methods and Reliability Statement

                                               median pay. There are disadvantages to                                                                        for the May 2014 Occupational Employment
                                                                                                       1 pay bands (Table 2) will track the 12               Statistics Survey. http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/
                                               each of these approaches. Total pay
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                                                                                                                                                             methods_statement.pdf.
                                                                                                         42 See also Micklewright, John and Schnepf,            45 Collection of the hours-worked data will
                                                 39 The panel included individuals with expertise      Sylke V., How Reliable are Income Data Collected      account for the fact that some individuals are
                                               in HRIS and SAP, and in compensation, payroll,          with a Single Question? (November 2007). See also     employed for less than the entire reporting year,
                                               and benefits.                                           IZA Discussion Paper No. 3177, http://ftp.iza.org/    and therefore, may work fewer hours. For example,
                                                 40 Collecting Compensation Data from Employers,       dp3177.pdf.                                           if a large number of women are hired part way into
                                               National Academies of Science http://de.nlx.org/          43 See U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity            a reporting year, their W–2 compensation will be
                                               pdfs/20140825_nrc-report-august2012.pdf.                Commission, EEO–4 Survey, https://egov.eeoc.gov/      lower than the compensation of men who worked
                                                 41 See supra note 19, at 2.                           eeo4/.                                                for the entire reporting year.



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                                               5118                          Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 20 / Monday, February 1, 2016 / Notices

                                               information. Employers are encouraged                      The EEOC and OFCCP plan to                           particular groups of people (e.g., women
                                               to comment on this issue.46                             develop a software tool that will allow                 of color).51
                                                  Generally, however, the initial                      their investigators to conduct an initial                 After collecting and reconciling EEO–
                                               conclusion is that requiring employers                  analysis by looking at W–2 pay                          1 data, the Joint Reporting Committee at
                                               to provide the total number of hours                    distribution within a single firm or                    the EEOC provides a database to
                                               worked would impose a minimal                           establishment, and by comparing the                     OFCCP. OFCCP holds confidential the
                                               burden. Employers will report only data                 firm’s or establishment’s data to                       data for contractor filers to the
                                               that they already maintain. The panel of                aggregate industry or metropolitan-area                 maximum extent permitted by law, in
                                               HRIS experts convened for the Pilot                     data.49 This application would highlight                accordance with Exemption 4 of the
                                               Study reported that ‘‘total hours                       statistics of interest.                                 Freedom of Information Act and the
                                               worked’’ data is maintained by almost                                                                           Trade Secrets Act.52 With respect to
                                                                                                       Confidentiality
                                               all payroll systems. The information is                                                                         EEO–1 data for companies that are not
                                               available for the previous quarter, the                    The EEOC and OFCCP jointly collect                   under OFCCP’s jurisdiction, the
                                               previous four quarters, and the calendar                the data on the EEO–1 report through                    confidentiality provisions of Section
                                               year. For employers that outsource                      their Joint Reporting Committee, which                  709(e) apply.53 Accordingly, OFCCP
                                               payroll, this variable could be added to                has represented the two agencies for the                refers all requests for such data to the
                                               the one-time reporting query that is                    purpose of administering the EEO–1                      EEOC for a response.
                                               written to download income data.                        since the reporting requirement began.
                                                                                                       All data is initially submitted to the                  Paperwork Reduction Act Statement
                                               Analysis of W–2 Pay Data                                Joint Reporting Committee housed at the                    The EEOC intends to submit to OMB
                                                 Statistical tests will be used as an                  EEOC and then provided to OFCCP.                        a request for a three-year PRA approval
                                               initial check of the W–2 data to be                     EEOC is required to hold its EEO–1 data                 of a revised EEO–1. The revised EEO–
                                               collected on the EEO–1, specifically,                   confidential under Section 709(e) of                    1 data collection has two components.
                                               statistical significance tests that do not              Title VII, which forbids ‘‘any [EEOC]                   The first component (Component 1) will
                                               rely on an assumption of a normal                       officer or employee’’ from making                       collect information identical to that
                                               distribution. The Pilot Study                           ‘‘public in any manner whatever any                     collected by the currently approved
                                               recommended several statistical                         information obtained by the                             EEO–1. The second component
                                               techniques to test within-job categories                Commission . . . prior to the institution               (Component 2) will collect data on
                                               and then suggested further examining                    of any [Title VII] proceeding . . .                     employees’ W–2 pay and hours worked.
                                               companies and establishments with low                   involving such information.’’ 42 U.S.C.                 Component 1 can be found at http://
                                               probabilities that the differences                      2000e–8(e). Any EEOC officer or                         www.eeoc.gov/employers/eeo1survey/
                                               between examined groups, such as men                    employee who violates this prohibition                  upload/eeo1-2.pdf. An illustration of
                                               and women, occurred by chance.47 The                    is guilty of a misdemeanor. Id.                         the data to be collected by both
                                                                                                          The EEOC publishes aggregate EEO–1                   Components 1 and 2 can be found at
                                               Pilot Study also noted that the issue of
                                                                                                       data in a manner that does not reveal                   http://www.eeoc.gov/employers/
                                               calibrating error rates (power vs.
                                                                                                       any particular employer’s data,                         eeo1survey/2016_new_survey.cfm.
                                               significance level) needed to be
                                                                                                       consistent with Section 709(e). For                        For the 2016 reporting cycle, EEO–1
                                               addressed to detect discrimination
                                                                                                       example, the EEOC has published                         filers would only submit the Component
                                               without suffering too many false
                                                                                                       aggregate EEO–1 data at the national,                   1 data. Beginning with the 2017
                                               positives. This process would include
                                                                                                       regional, and industry levels.50 The                    reporting cycle, the EEOC proposes to
                                               recognition of how sample sizes may
                                                                                                       EEOC also publishes reports analyzing
                                               influence results and also of judicial
                                                                                                       aggregate EEO–1 data based on industry                     51 See U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity
                                               precedents regarding definitions of                     (e.g., finance, media, and law firms) or                Commission, Special Reports, http://www.eeoc.gov/
                                               statistical probabilities.48                                                                                    eeoc/statistics/reports/index.cfm.
                                                                                                                                                                  52 See 5 U.S.C. 552 (b)(4). FOIA does not apply
                                                 46 Some
                                                                                                       311 n.17 (1977) (‘‘a fluctuation of more than two or
                                                          commentators on OFCCP’s proposed data        three standard deviations would undercut the            to ‘‘trade secrets and commercial or financial
                                               collection suggested that hours-worked data should      hypothesis that decisions were being made               information obtained from a person and privileged
                                               not be collected based, in part, on their concerns      randomly with respect to [a protected trait]);’’ see    or confidential’’; 18 U.S.C. 1905. Under the Trade
                                               that the collection would be burdensome and that        also, Wright v. Stern, 450 F.Supp.2d 335, 363           Secrets Act, criminal penalties may apply to an
                                               some employers do not collect this data for exempt      (S.D.N.Y. 2006) (court denied employer’s motion for     officer or employee of the United States who
                                               employees. For this reason, the EEOC encourages         summary judgment, concluding that the plaintiffs        ‘‘publishes, divulges, discloses, or makes known in
                                               employers to provide specific, detailed input on        presented sufficient statistical and other evidence     any manner or to any extent not authorized by law
                                               this aspect of its proposed data collection.            for a jury to conclude that the employer engaged in     . . . confidential statistical data. . . .’’ See also 79
                                                 47 For example, the Pilot Study recommends                                                                    FR 46562 at 46583 (August 8, 2014).
                                                                                                       widespread discrimination against African-
                                               using the Mann-Whitney test for grouped data and        American and Hispanic employees, in terms of               53 See relevant Paperwork Reduction Act
                                               comparison of two groups (for example, gender           promotions and compensation. The court noted            provision, 44 U.S.C. 3510. ‘‘(a) The Director may
                                               (men versus women) or race (African Americans           that, ‘‘[t]hough not dispositive, statistics            direct an agency to make available to another
                                               versus Whites)), and the Kruskal-Wallis test for        demonstrating a disparity of two standard               agency, or an agency may make available to another
                                               comparison of more than two groups (e.g., race).        deviations outside of the norm are generally            agency, information obtained by a collection of
                                               These tests are the most appropriate for an initial     considered statistically significant.’’)                information if the disclosure is not inconsistent
                                               review of establishments as a whole. Analyses can          49 Operationally, this application, or dashboard,    with applicable law. (b)(1) If information obtained
                                               be conducted by computing the statistical tests         could relate the nominal results of statistical tests   by an agency is released by that agency to another
                                               within job categories and then proceeding to more       (that is, test statistics or their p-values) to those   agency, all the provisions of law (including
                                               closely investigate companies and establishments        encountered in the location and the labor market        penalties) that relate to the unlawful disclosure of
                                               with low p-values. Interval regressions can be used     based on the relevant industry and geography. On        information apply to the officers and employees of
                                               to examine the impact of hours worked, race and         such a dashboard, the EEOC investigator would see       the agency to which information is released to the
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                                               gender on distributions within pay bands. It may        technical information such as the values of the         same extent and in the same manner as the
                                               also be appropriate to compare a particular firm’s      main statistics used to describe the establishment,     provisions apply to the officers and employees of
                                               regression coefficients for the hours worked, race      and its relation to the same statistic encountered in   the agency which originally obtained the
                                               and gender variables to those derived from an           other comparable establishments.                        information. (2) The officers and employees of the
                                               analysis of the relevant labor market as a whole.          50 See U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity             agency to which the information is released, in
                                                 48 The EEOC’s statistical analysis techniques are     Commission, ‘‘Job Patterns for Minorities and           addition, shall be subject to the same provisions of
                                               consistent with judicially recognized statistical       Women in Private Industry (EEO–1), http://              law, including penalties, relating to the unlawful
                                               standards for identifying meaningful discrepancies.     www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/statistics/employment/jobpat-         disclosure of information as if the information had
                                               Hazelwood Sch. Dist. v. United States, 433 U.S. 299,    eeo1/index.cfm.                                         been collected directly by that agency.’’



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                                                                                       Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 20 / Monday, February 1, 2016 / Notices                                                                      5119

                                               require EEO–1 filers with 100 or more                                      2017 and 2018 Overview of Information                   more employees will submit pay and
                                               employees to submit Component 2 data                                       Collection—Components 1 and 2                           hours-worked data under Component 2
                                               in addition to Component 1 data.                                             Collection Title: Employer                            in addition to the demographic and job
                                               However, contractor filers with 50 to 99                                   Information Report (EEO–1).                             category data under Component 1.
                                               employees will only submit Component                                         OMB Control Number: 3046–0007.                          Number of Respondents: 60,886.
                                               1 data.                                                                      Frequency of Report: Annual.
                                                                                                                            Number of Forms: 1.                                     Reporting Hours: 401,847.6.
                                               2016 Overview of Information                                                 Form Number: EEOC Form 100.                             Respondent Burden Hour Cost:
                                               Collection—Component 1                                                       Federal Cost: $318,000 for one-time                   $9,736,767.35.
                                                 Collection Title: Employer                                               costs and $1,621,300 54 for recurring
                                                                                                                          staffing costs.                                         PRA Burden Statement
                                               Information Report (EEO–1).
                                                 OMB Control Number: 3046–0007.                                           Component 1 (Demographic and Job                        2016: Component 1
                                                                                                                          Category Data)
                                                 Frequency of Report: Annual.                                                                                                        Burden Statement: In 2016, all EEO–
                                                                                                                            Description of Affected Public: In                    1 filers will submit only Component 1,
                                                 Description of Affected Public: Private                                  2017 and 2018, contractor filers with 50
                                               industry filers with 100 or more                                                                                                   which includes the data collected by the
                                                                                                                          to 99 employees will submit only the
                                               employees and federal government                                                                                                   currently approved EEO–1. The
                                                                                                                          demographic and job category data
                                               contractor filers with 50 or more                                                                                                  estimated number of respondents
                                                                                                                          collected by Component 1.
                                               employees.                                                                   Number of Respondents: 6,260.                         required to submit the annual EEO–1
                                                 Number of Respondents: 67,146.                                             Reporting Hours: 21,284.                              survey is 67,146.55 This data collection
                                                                                                                            Respondent Burden Hour Cost:                          is estimated to impose 228,296.4 burden
                                                 Reporting Hours: 228,296.4.                                                                                                      hours in 2016 or 3.4 hours per filer.56
                                                                                                                          $515,711.32.
                                                 Respondent Burden Hour Cost:                                                                                                     See Table 3. The estimated burden is
                                               $5,531,621.77.                                                             Components 1 and 2 (Demographic and
                                                                                                                          Job Category Data Plus Pay and Hours-                   based on electronic, rather than paper
                                                 Federal Cost: $1,330,821.                                                Worked Data)                                            filing, which significantly reduces the
                                                 Number of Forms: 1.                                                                                                              survey burden.
                                                                                                                            Description of Affected Public: In
                                                 Form Number: EEOC Form 100.                                              2017 and 2018, EEO–1 filers with 100 or

                                                                                          TABLE 3—ANNUAL BURDEN—2016 (COMPONENT 1)
                                                [All EEO–1 filers: Private industry employers with 100 or more employees and Federal Government contractors and first-tier subcontractors with
                                                                                                            50 or more employees]

                                                                                                                                          Annual burden                        Total annual                                   Total burden
                                                                                                                                                                Filers                                Wage rate
                                                                                                                                             hours                             burden hours                                    hour cost

                                               Reading instructions ..........................................................                      0.5              67,146          33,573                     $24.23        $813,473.79
                                               Collecting, verifying, validating and reporting data ............                                    2.9              67,146         194,723.4                    24.23        4,718,147.98

                                                     Total ............................................................................             3.4              67,146         228,296.4      ........................   5,531,621.77



                                               2017 and 2018: Components 1 and 2                                             Burden Statement—Components 1                        result of the proposed collection of W–
                                                                                                                          and 2: Starting in 2017, the estimated                  2 pay data is estimated as follows:
                                                  Burden Statement—Component 1
                                                                                                                          number of annual respondents that will                    • Annual Burden Calculation: The
                                               Only: Starting in 2017, the estimated
                                               number of annual respondents who are                                       submit Components 1 and 2 is 60,886                     estimated total annual burden hours
                                               contractor filers with 50 to 99                                            private industry and contractor filers.                 needed for filers to report demographic
                                               employees is 6,260.57                                                      Filers required to complete both                        and W–2 pay data via Components 1
                                                                                                                          Components 1 and 2 are estimated to                     and 2 of the revised EEO–1 Report is
                                                  The burden on these contractor filers
                                               is estimated as follows:                                                   incur 401,847.6 burden hours annually                   401,847.6, with an associated total
                                                                                                                          or 6.6 hours per filer. The estimated                   annual burden hour cost of
                                                  • Annual Burden Calculation: The
                                                                                                                          burden is based on electronic, rather                   $9,736,767.35. This burden estimate
                                               estimated total annual burden hours
                                               required to complete Component 1 of                                        than paper, filing, which significantly                 includes reading instructions and
                                               the EEO–1 data collection in 2017 and                                      reduces the survey burden.                              collecting, merging, validating, and
                                               2018 is 21,284, with an associated total                                      The burden imposed on all private                    reporting the data electronically.59 See
                                               annual burden hour cost of                                                 industry employer filers and contractor                 Table 4.
                                               $515,711.32.58 See Table 4.                                                filers with 100 or more employees as a
                                                  54 The addition of W–2 pay data to the EEO–1 is                         procures to assist with administration and                58 This estimate is calculated as follows: 3.4 hours

                                               expected to increase EEOC’s internal staffing costs                        processing of the EEO–1 but did not include EEOC’s      per respondent × 6,260 respondents = 21,284 hours
                                               by approximately $290,478. The annual federal cost                         internal staffing costs associated with processing      × $24.23 per hour = $515,711.32. See Bureau of
                                                                                                                          the EEO–1.
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                                               figure of $1,621,300 includes both the increase in                                                                                 Labor Statistics in the publication ‘‘Employer Costs
                                               contract costs resulting from the addition of the pay                        55 In 2014, 67,146 firms filed EEO–1 reports.         for Employee Compensation’’ (December 2013),
                                               data collection and the estimated internal staffing                          56 In 2014, all but three reporting firms submitted   which lists total compensation for administrative
                                               costs. It reflects an increase of more than $290,478                       electronic, rather than paper survey responses.         support as $24.23 per hour, http://www.bls.gov/
                                               compared to the estimated federal costs provided in                        These burden estimates assume that virtually all        news.release/archives/ecec_03122014.htm (last
                                               previously published Federal Register notices                              respondents will continue to file electronically.       accessed September 23, 2014).
                                               seeking PRA approval of this information collection                          57 Of the 67,146 firms that filed EEO–1 reports in      59 This estimate is calculated as follows: 6.6 hours

                                               because past estimates reflected the cost of the                           2014, 6,260 were federal contractor filers with fewer   per respondent × 60,886 respondents = 401,847.6
                                               contract with the vendor whose services the EEOC                           than 100 employees.                                     hours × $24.23 per hour = $9,736,767.35. See
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Continued



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                                               5120                                  Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 20 / Monday, February 1, 2016 / Notices

                                                 • One-Time Implementation Burden:                                     on the one-time cost for developing                                  Further, the EEOC estimates that the
                                               The estimated one-time implementation                                   queries related to Component 2 in an                               addition of W–2 pay data to the EEO–
                                               burden hour cost for submitting the                                     existing human resources information                               1 will raise its internal staffing cost by
                                               information required by Component 2 of                                  system, which is estimated to take 8                               $290,478 due to the increased staff time
                                               the revised EEO–1 Report is                                             hours per filer at a wage rate of $47.22                           needed to process the additional data.
                                               $23,000,295.60 This calculation is based                                per hour.

                                                                                                                TABLE 4—ANNUAL BURDENS—2017 AND 2018
                                                                                                                [Revised EEO–1 Data Collection—Components 1 and 2]

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Total annual
                                                                                                                                     Annual burden                                     Total annual
                                                                            Annual burden                                                                               Filers                              Wage rate               burden hour
                                                                                                                                        hours                                          burden hours                                     cost

                                                                                                                                     Component 1 Only
                                                                                                                           Contractor filers with 50 to 99 employees

                                               Reading instructions ......................................................                               0.5                  6,260           3130                    $24.23           $75,839.90
                                               Collecting, verifying, validating and reporting data ........                                             2.9                  6,260          18,154                    24.23           439,871.42

                                                     Total Annual Burden for Filers Submitting Compo-
                                                       nent 1 ..................................................................                         3.4                  6,260          21,284      ........................      515,711.32

                                                                                                                            Components 1 and 2
                                                                                       All private industry employer filers, as well as contractor filers with 100 or more employees

                                               Reading instructions ......................................................                               1                   60,886         60,886                      24.23        1,475,268
                                               Collecting, verifying, validating and reporting data ........                                             5.6                 60,886        340,961.6                    24.23        8,261,499.35

                                                     Total Annual Burden for Filers Submitting Compo-
                                                       nents 1 and 2 ......................................................                              6.6                 60,886        401,847.6     ........................    9,736,767.35

                                                                                                                                   Total Annual Burden—All Filers

                                                     Total for Revised EEO–1 ........................................               ..........................               67,146        423,131.6     ........................   10,252,478.67



                                                 The reporting hour burden                                             report. This burden calculation is based                           employers, in their comments
                                               calculations in this notice reflect a                                   on the time spent on the tasks involved                            responding to paragraph 2 in the
                                               departure from the manner in which the                                  in filing the survey, rather than on ‘‘key                         ‘‘Solicitation of Public Comment’’
                                               EEOC traditionally has estimated                                        strokes’’ or data entry. As such, it more                          section below, to provide: (1)
                                               reporting burden. In the past, the EEOC                                 accurately reflects how virtually all                              Quantitative information about the
                                               estimated the reporting hour burden                                     employers actually complete the EEO–1                              burden associated with completing the
                                               based on the number of total cells in the                               and the EEOC’s practice of providing                               currently approved EEO–1, as well as
                                               report(s) that a firm had to complete.                                  filers alternative methods for filing their                        the anticipated estimated burden to also
                                               This approach viewed each report filed                                  reports such as data uploads using                                 submit pay and hours-worked data, and
                                               by a firm as a separate reporting                                       various formats and online filing.                                 (2) data regarding the estimated time
                                               requirement, analogous to a paper                                          The EEOC seeks employer input on                                that staff will spend to report the
                                               report. In reporting year 2014, however,                                this burden calculation. The EEOC                                  employer’s pay and hours-worked data
                                               the number of paper reports declined to                                 reviewed OFCCP’s ANPRM and NPRM                                    and the corresponding wage rates for
                                               just three. In addition, employers now                                  and the public comments relating to the                            that staff.
                                               rely extensively on automated HRIS to                                   burden calculation for OFCCP’s                                        Solicitation of Public Comment:
                                               generate the information they submit on                                 proposal to collect pay data and                                   Pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction
                                               the EEO–1 report.61 As a result, each                                   consulted with OFCCP about burden                                  Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, and
                                               additional report filed has just a                                      estimates.63 The Pilot Study approached                            OMB regulation 5 CFR 1320.8(d)(1), the
                                               marginal additional cost.62 To                                          some private employers to seek data                                Commission solicits public comment to
                                               accurately reflect the manner in which                                  about the possible cost of collecting pay                          enable it to:
                                               employers now collect and submit the                                    information but few employers                                         1. Evaluate whether the proposed
                                               data for filing, the estimated reporting                                responded, and the employers that did                              collection of information is necessary
                                               burden set forth in this notice is                                      respond did not provide quantitative                               for the proper performance of the
                                               calculated per firm, rather than per                                    feedback. The EEOC encourages                                      Commission’s functions, including

                                               Bureau of Labor Statistics in the publication                           for Employee Compensation’’ (December 2013),                       from an electronic file generated by the HRIS to the
                                               ‘‘Employer Costs for Employee Compensation’’                            which lists total compensation for a professional as               survey data base. In 2014, 1,449 firms filed EEO–
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                                               (December 2013), which lists total compensation for                     $47.22 per hour, http://www.bls.gov/news.release/                  1 reports by uploading a data file, accounting for
                                               administrative support as $24.23 per hour, http://                      archives/ecec_03122014.htm (last accessed                          704,654 of the EEO–1 reports filed in that year.
                                               www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/                                      September 23, 2014).                                                  63 OFCCP plans to utilize EEO–1 pay data for
                                               ecec_03122014.htm (last accessed September 23,                            61 Surveys have shown that more than 90 percent

                                               2014).                                                                  of human resource departments operate with some                    federal contractors with 100 or more employees
                                                  60 This is estimate is calculated as follows: 8                      form of computerized HRIS. See Public Personnel                    instead of implementing a separate compensation
                                               hours per respondent × 60,886 employers = 487,088                       Management, Volume 39, No. 3, Fall 2010.                           data survey as outlined in its August 8, 2014,
                                               × $47.22 per hour = $23,000,295. See Bureau of                            62 In fact, a number of firms file by uploading a                NPRM.
                                               Labor Statistics in the publication ‘‘Employer Costs                    data file so that the information goes nearly directly



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                                                                                      Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 20 / Monday, February 1, 2016 / Notices                                                           5121

                                               whether the information will have                                       Conclusion                                                For the Commission.
                                               practical utility;                                                                                                              Jenny R. Yang,
                                                                                                                         This notice summarizes the EEOC’s                     Chair.
                                                 2. Improve the accuracy of the                                        proposal to submit a revised EEO–1 to
                                               Commission’s estimate of the burden of                                  OMB for 3-year PRA approval to require
                                                                                                                                                                               [FR Doc. 2016–01544 Filed 1–29–16; 8:45 am]
                                               the proposed collection of information,                                 private employer filers, as well as most                BILLING CODE 6570–01–P
                                               including the validity of the                                           federal government contractor filers, to
                                               methodology and assumptions used;                                       submit data on employee pay starting
                                                 3. Enhance the quality, utility, and                                  with the 2017 reporting cycle. This data                FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS
                                               clarity of the information to be                                        collection would meet the statistical                   COMMISSION
                                               collected; and                                                          needs of both the EEOC and OFCCP. It
                                                                                                                       would also enable employers to self-                    Sunshine Act Meeting
                                                 4. Minimize the burden of the
                                               collection of information on those who                                  assess their pay practices and policies                 January 21, 2016.
                                               are required to respond, including the                                  and thereby support voluntary                             The Federal Communications
                                               use of appropriate automated,                                           compliance. In developing this PRA                      Commission will hold an Open Meeting
                                               electronic, mechanical, or other                                        proposal, the EEOC has balanced                         on the subjects listed below on
                                               technological collection techniques or                                  enforcement objectives with the burden                  Thursday, January 28, 2016, which is
                                               other forms of information technology,                                  and confidentiality concerns of                         scheduled to commence at 10:30 a.m. in
                                               e.g., permitting electronic submission of                               respondents.                                            Room TW–C305, at 445 12th Street SW.,
                                               responses.                                                                 Dated: January 21, 2016.                             Washington, DC.

                                                   Item No.                                      Bureau                                                                         Subject

                                               1 ...................    MEDIA .......................................................   TITLE: Expansion of Online Public File Obligations to Cable and Satellite TV Opera-
                                                                                                                                          tors and Broadcast and Satellite Radio Licensees (MB Docket No. 14–127).
                                                                                                                                          SUMMARY: The Commission will consider a Report and Order which modernizes
                                                                                                                                          the public inspection file rules by requiring cable and satellite TV operators and
                                                                                                                                          broadcast and satellite radio companies to post public inspection files on the
                                                                                                                                          FCC’s online database.
                                               2 ...................    PUBLIC SAFETY & HOMELAND SECU-                                  TITLE: Amendment of Commission’s Rules Regarding the Emergency Alert System
                                                                         RITY.                                                            (PS Docket No. 15–94) and Wireless Emergency Alerts (PS Docket No. 15–91).
                                                                                                                                          SUMMARY: The Commission plans to discuss strengthening the Emergency Alert
                                                                                                                                          System (EAS) by promoting participation on the state and local levels, supporting
                                                                                                                                          greater testing and awareness of EAS, leveraging technological advances, and
                                                                                                                                          bolstering EAS security.
                                               3 ...................    WIRELINE COMPETITION AND WIRE-                                  TITLE: Inquiry Concerning the Deployment of Advanced Telecommunications Capa-
                                                                         LESS TELE-COMMUNICATIONS.                                        bility to All Americans in a Reasonable and Timely Fashion, and Possible Steps
                                                                                                                                          to Accelerate Such Deployment Pursuant to Section 706 of the Telecommuni-
                                                                                                                                          cations Act of 1996, as Amended by the Broadband Data Improvement Act (GN
                                                                                                                                          Docket No. 15–191). SUMMARY: The Commission will consider the 2016
                                                                                                                                          Broadband Progress Report examining whether advanced telecommunications
                                                                                                                                          capability is being deployed to all Americans in a reasonable and timely fashion,
                                                                                                                                          pursuant to Section 706 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996.



                                               *        *        *         *        *                                  Consent Agenda                                          consent agenda and these items will not
                                                                                                                         The Commission will consider the                      be presented individually:
                                                                                                                       following subjects listed below as a

                                               1 ...................    GENERAL COUNSEL ...............................                 TITLE: Mitchell F. Brecher Request for Inspection of Records (FOIA Control No.
                                                                                                                                          2014–338). SUMMARY: The Commission will consider a Memorandum Opinion
                                                                                                                                          and Order concerning the Application for Review filed by Mitchell F. Brecher re-
                                                                                                                                          garding the denial of his request for inspection of records under the Freedom of
                                                                                                                                          Information Act.
                                               2 ...................    GENERAL COUNSEL ...............................                 TITLE: SMS/800 Inc. Request for Inspection of Records (FOIA Control No. 2015–
                                                                                                                                          044). SUMMARY: The Commission will consider a Memorandum Opinion and
                                                                                                                                          Order concerning the Application for Review filed by SMS/800 Inc. regarding the
                                                                                                                                          release of records pertaining to SMS/800 Inc. in response to a request for inspec-
                                                                                                                                          tion of records under the Freedom of Information Act filed by Mark Lewyn.
                                               3 ...................    GENERAL COUNSEL ...............................                 TITLE: Rachel A. Avan Request for Inspection of Records (FOIA Control No. 2014–
                                                                                                                                          572). SUMMARY: The Commission will consider a Memorandum Opinion and
                                                                                                                                          Order concerning the Application for Review filed by Rachel A. Avan regarding
                                                                                                                                          the denial of her request for inspection of records under the Freedom of Informa-
                                                                                                                                          tion Act.
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                                               4 ...................    GENERAL COUNSEL ...............................                 TITLE: Russell Carollo Request for Inspection of Records (FOIA Control No. 2015–
                                                                                                                                          553). SUMMARY: The Commission will consider a Memorandum Opinion and
                                                                                                                                          Order concerning the Application for Review filed by Russell Carollo regarding the
                                                                                                                                          partial denial of his request for inspection of records under the Freedom of Infor-
                                                                                                                                          mation Act.




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Document Created: 2016-01-30 01:17:25
Document Modified: 2016-01-30 01:17:25
CategoryRegulatory Information
CollectionFederal Register
sudoc ClassAE 2.7:
GS 4.107:
AE 2.106:
PublisherOffice of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration
SectionNotices
ActionProposed revision of the employer information report (EEO-1) and comment request.
DatesWritten comments on this notice must be submitted on or before April 1, 2016.
ContactRonald Edwards, Director, Program Research and Surveys Division, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 131 M Street NE., Room 4SW30F, Washington, DC 20507; (202) 663-4949 (voice) or (202) 663-7063 (TTY). Requests for this notice in an alternative format should be made to the Office of Communications and Legislative Affairs at (202) 663-4191 (voice) or (202) 663-4494 (TTY).
FR Citation81 FR 5113 

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