Nearly two years into the second Trump administration, the cost of essentials continues to rise in part as a result of the President’s policy decisions and workers and their families are struggling financially. Workers cannot afford to lose income or jobs due to workplace discrimination or unfair pay. But instead of protecting workers against discrimination, the Trump administration’s Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is working to eliminate a tool that has helped detect and prevent workplace discrimination for decades. The proposed rescission is part of the agency’s weaponization and broader efforts to attack workers’ civil rights. The EEOC has made it clear that they care little for the very workers they are meant to protect.
The EEOC Is Moving to Abandon a Tool that Helps Combat Employment Discrimination
Workers rely on the EEOC, the federal agency tasked with enforcing anti-discrimination laws, to help root out the unlawful employment discrimination that can leave workers with lower pay or lost job opportunities. But currently, the EEOC is underfunded and facing historically low staffing levels, making it important for the agency to use its limited resources wisely.
For 60 years, the EEO-1 data collection has been an effective tool to help the agency discover and investigate discrimination more efficiently. These regulations require certain large private employers to report workforce demographic data to the agency each year. The data serves as a snapshot of businesses’ demographic makeup, to pinpoint discriminatory trends in a workplace. This helps the EEOC in its efforts to identify, investigate and address systemic employment discrimination.
EEO-1 data helps EEOC investigators identify when a company has a widespread pattern of discrimination. In these systematic cases, the agency can help change the discriminatory practices and recover wages for many workers at once, rather than investigating cases one by one. This year alone, the current administration has used EEO-1 data to settle cases asserting broad sex discrimination in hiring – from trucking to waste management – securing over five million dollars for workers. The data can also help when workers do not even know they are being discriminated against or are scared to come forward. If a Commissioner suspects discrimination practices, a Commissioner can review a business’ EEO-1 data and bring a Commissioner’s charge, even if workers have not filed a charge themselves.
Despite the importance of this data, on July 23, 2026, the EEOC proposed rescinding this 60-year-old requirement. Absent reporting requirements, instead of the EEOC reviewing existing data they already have on hand, the agency will take significantly more time to request data from employers. As a result, enforcement becomes more time-consuming, delaying investigations and resolutions of workers’ cases.
The EEOC is Ignoring How This Rollback Might Hurt Workers
When an agency wants to change its rules, it must estimate potential costs and benefits – including what it might cost workers. Yet the agency did not consider the cost to workers in proposing to eliminate the EEO-1 data requirement. Because the lack of EEO-1 data could mean longer investigations or overlooked discriminatory practices, more workers may experience discrimination and for longer periods of time, translating into severe economic consequences for workers and their families. For example, evidence shows that workers who experience sex discrimination experience lower levels of work and lower wages. As a result, impacted workers and their families may struggle to pay for basic necessities, such as gas or childcare, and face increased economic insecurity. These impacts will be disproportionately felt by workers most likely to experience discrimination in the workplace – particularly workers of color and women workers.
Workers Want the EEOC to Keep Collecting Data
During the short 30-day period for the public to weigh in, more than 2,800 comments were submitted. Comments were clear: workers want the EEOC to keep collecting workforce data. Worker comments repeatedly underscore the value of data reporting requirements:
“…I strongly disagree with the EEOC’s proposal to remove Reporting Requirements, a program that has benefitted millions of American workers over the past 6 decades, and is a key component of the EEOC’s functionality. If you do not require employers to submit workforce demographic reports, you will have very little ability to actually protect workers from discrimination. Please continue your requirement of employer demographic data collection so that the people of this country who work hard to put bread on their family’s tables can continue to fight workplace discrimination and make a more equal future..”
“…Employer-level data is critical to understanding these workers’ experiences and the barriers they face, such as unfair pay or limited access to promotions. It also allows the EEOC to see a broader picture of the workforce and spot patterns of discrimination that individual workers may not be able to.”
“…Eliminating the EEO-1 requirement destroys the baseline metrics used to benchmark fair compensation…and ensure workplace decisions are made on merit…”
For six decades, EEO-1 reporting requirements have helped combat pervasive discrimination in the workplace. Rescinding this data reporting requirement will only leave workers, especially women workers who are suffering in this economy, further behind. All workers deserve an EEOC that is unwavering in its commitment to prevent and remedy unlawful employment discrimination.
The author would like to thank Gail Zuagar, Udochi Onwubiko, Tori Coan, Shannon Bonney, and Sharita Gruberg for their thoughtful contributions.