By Godson Umejiego, Senior Correspondent , USA

The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has announced  that the 2021 EEO-1 Component 1 data collection is now open. The deadline for submitting and certifying 2021 EEO-1 Component 1 Report(s) is May 17, 2022. To meet this deadline, the EEOC strongly encourages eligible filers to begin the filing process as soon as possible.

For the 2021 EEO-1 Component 1 data collection, the EEOC is continuing to modernize the agency’s EEO data collections and improve the quality of data collected. The EEOC is also improving the filing process by making it more user-friendly and streamlining functions, including additional self-service options, and providing a new Filer Support Team Message Center for filer support.

This new message center allows filers to submit their requests for assistance to the EEOC within the EEO-1 Online Filing System as well as update requests with new information, terminate requests, and track the status of requests. It also provides filers with more self-service referencing capabilities to quickly connect to relevant materials. All filer inquiries regarding the 2021 EEO-1 Component 1 data collection should be submitted through the Filer Support Team Message Center.

Filers should visit the dedicated EEO-1 Component 1 website at www.eeocdata.org/eeo1 to access the online filing system and to find this year’s updates and resource materials. Filers needing additional assistance can use the Filer Support Team Message Center at www.eeocdata.org/eeo1/support/contactus.

The EEO-1 Component 1 report is a mandatory annual data collection that requires all private sector employers with 100 or more employees and federal contractors with 50 or more employees meeting certain criteria, to submit workforce demographics including data by race/ethnicity, sex, and job categories. The filing by eligible employers of the EEO-1 Component 1 Report is required under section 709(c) of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-8(c), and 29 CFR 1602.7-.14 and 41 CFR 60-1.7(a). Employers can find additional eligibility information on the EEO-1 Component 1 website at www.eeocdata.org/eeo1.

The EEOC advances opportunity in the workplace by enforcing federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination.