Washington, D.C. – The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today took another step to make it harder to identify and fight workplace discrimination, holding a public hearing on its proposal to rescind longstanding EEO-1 collection of workforce demographic stats along with other similar data collections. 

“Eliminating data about the demographics of the workforce will make discrimination harder to identify and address,” NWLC’s senior director of workplace equality, Lauren Khouri, told commissioners at the hearing alongside nearly two dozen other advocates. “The absence of this information clears the way for the EEOC to justify enforcement priorities that are driven by politics rather than facts — with real consequences for the workers who rely on the EEOC to enforce their rights.”

If the rule is finalized, the agency will stop collecting and publishing EEO-1 data, a practice done for the past 60 years. The EEOC also is proposing to rescind other critical data collections, including information from unions and state and local governments.  

“The EEOC’s proposal to eliminate data about the racial and gender composition of the workforce is not grounded in law or fact. We will not let the EEOC obscure what’s really happening: the EEOC is choosing to make it harder to identify and fight discrimination, and women and workers of color will disproportionately bear the cost,” Khouri said after the hearing. “With only half of the year over and nearly 1 million women already leaving the workforce, it is more important than ever that workers have access to good jobs without facing discrimination. This is unacceptable and we will continue to hold the agency accountable to its mission to ensure all workers have an equal opportunity to access good jobs and advance at work without facing discrimination.”

As Khouri shared in the hearing, the EEOC proposed actions would follow the radical to-do list in Project 2025, with rescinding EEO-1 data collection as the only directive the agency has yet to fulfill. NWLC reminded the EEOC of its obligation to enforce our federal anti-discrimination laws on behalf of all workers, and we urged it to preserve this tool that has helped it do its job for over 60 years. There is still time for the public to send the EEOC the same message by submitting comments to the agency. 

To speak with an expert about the hearing or the impacts of this rescission, please contact [email protected]. 

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