2023 EEO-1 Component 1 Instruction Booklet Released

By: Benjamin Kerner and Alaya Collins

The EEO-1 Instruction Booklet for the 2023 EEO-1 reports was published on March 19th, 2024. In comparing this instruction booklet to the prior version, there are some notable changes. A brief overview of the purpose and content of the Instruction Booklet, as well as some key changes for the 2023 reports are highlighted below. As a reminder, the 2024 filing period (for 2023 reports) will open April 30, 2024. All private employers with 100 or more employees, and federal contractors with 50 or more employees meeting certain criteria, are required to submit EEO-1 reports on an annual basis.

The Instruction Booklet should be used by employers to ensure compliance with the mandatory filing obligation. As a general summary, the Instruction Booklet includes guidance regarding the legal basis for this reporting, acceptable EEO-1 report types are identified, and employment and occupational data requirements are clarified.

The booklet also contains information on who is required to file, how one can file, and when one can file as well as information regarding report confidentiality, special procedure requests such as applying for a filing exemption with the EEOC, and burden estimates. 

Lastly, five appendices are included providing general report definitions, race, sex, and ethnicity definitions and identification guidance, job category descriptions, report types, and a sample EEO-1 Component 1 Report.

There are a number of changes made to the Instruction Booklet since the 2022 reporting period. Two notable changes include (1) the delayed plan to require reporting on client sites and (2) early announcement of a “Failure to File” deadline.

First, in the 2022 EEO-1 Component 1 Instruction Booklet, EEOC stated that starting with the 2023 reporting, “employers will be required to report employees working at client site locations at the address of the client site.” Previously employers would have reported these employees in the report of the establishment the employee reported to, this change in instructions would remove that option.

The 2023 EEO-1 Component 1 Instruction Booklet indicates the EEOC “intends to propose” that this takes effect in 2026 (2025 reporting period). This change in rhetoric may signify that the EEOC received resistance on this proposed change during the last filing period and it is not guaranteed to occur.

Second, after an EEO-1 Component 1 reporting period, the EEOC allows for an additional time period known as the “Failure to File” deadline. While this is reporting after the EEOC’s established deadline and the lateness of the reporting will be marked on official report copies, this extended period provides one last opportunity for employers to submit their data before the cycle ends for the year and are considered as noncompliant.

It is notable that this information was included in the Instruction Booklet and released prior to the filing start date. For the 2023 reporting cycle, the instruction booklet contains this specified “Failure to File” timeline. Notably, the Failure to File period will occur between June 5th through July 9th, 2024 until 11:00pm EDT. Of course, any extensions or filing delays that are announced will affect this deadline. However, the early communication of this should be taken seriously and employers should not expect to see broad extensions.

The file specifications for EEO-1 Component 1 reporting are also available and DCI has confirmed that they are unchanged from the 2022 reports. DCI will continue to monitor changes related to this filing and its resources and will report out key updates.