EEOC proposes ending data collection, rescinding affirmative action guidance
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, under President Trump, is moving to end its annual collection of employee demographic data and rescind a 1979 regulation that allowed employers to voluntarily address race and gender imbalances. The proposals have been submitted to the White House for review, according to NPR, which is the sole source of this report. EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas, appointed by Trump, did not respond to NPR’s questions about the proposals. Lucas has stated that programs giving special consideration to specific groups such as Black people or women are unlawful under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 if they exclude others. The 1979 regulation had provided a roadmap for companies to use race- and gender-conscious efforts, such as mentoring programs and hiring targets, without violating the law. The EEOC’s data collection, known as EEO-1, has historically helped the agency identify where people of color and women are under-hired or under-promoted, leading to billions of dollars in settlements. Lucas has argued that some companies have misused the data to make hiring decisions based on race or sex, which she says crosses into unlawful territory.
What’s reported
The EEOC is seeking to end its annual EEO-1 data collection and rescind a 1979 regulation allowing voluntary affirmative action.
The proposals have been submitted to the White House for review.
Andrea Lucas, Trump-appointed EEOC chair, did not respond to NPR’s questions about the proposals.
Lucas stated that programs aimed at helping specific groups are unlawful under Title VII if they exclude others, saying “the way to stop discriminating based on race is to stop discriminating based on race.”
The 1979 regulation allowed companies to take voluntary race- and gender-conscious steps, including mentoring programs and hiring targets, after documenting a problem.
The Supreme Court affirmed this approach in the Weber (1979) and Johnson (1987) decisions, which remain law.
EEO-1 data has helped the EEOC recover billions of dollars for discrimination victims, including a $10.5 million settlement against Bass Pro Shops in 2017.
Lucas has said the data has been misused by companies post-2020 to make hiring and promotion decisions based on race or sex.
The EEOC has accused Nike and The New York Times of discrimination against white employees and job applicants, according to court documents.
Key figures
Andrea Lucas, Trump-appointed chair of the EEOC
Chai Feldblum, former EEOC commissioner under Obama and first Trump administrations
Karla Gilbride, former EEOC general counsel under the Biden administration
David Lopez, former EEOC general counsel, now at Arizona State University
David Cohen, president of DCI Consulting
Sources: NPR
