EEOC proposal to undo pay data collection reform is an enormous step backward

Will inflict further harm on women and families

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released a new rule last week undoing previous reforms requiring employers to collect data on workers’ pay and hours.

In other words, the federal uniform pay data collection from employers across the U.S. currently under way for 2017 and 2018 may be a one-time requirement.

The EEOC says it won’t renew the pay data collection as part of its annual workforce diversity report, saying the burden to collect the data — known as “Component 2” of the EEO-1 report — is higher than previously estimated, and deserves additional examination before the agency seeks White House approval for more pay collections. The current pay collection is set to expire Sept. 30.

Jocelyn Frye, senior fellow with the Women’s Initiative at the Center for American Progress, described the proposed rule change as an enormous step backward that will further harm women and families.