15,000 contractors’ EEO-1 reports subject to disclosure

The Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR) submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) for all Type 2 Consolidated EEO-1 Reports filed by federal contractors from 2016 to 2020. Consolidated Reports include aggregated data for all employees of the company—at headquarters as well as all establishments—categorized by race/ethnicity, sex, and job category.

As many as 15,000 contractors and first-tier subcontractors are believed to be subject to the request. Although objections to disclosure of the EEO-1 reports were originally to be filed by September 19, 2022, the OFCCP has extended to filing date to October 19, 2022.

The FOIA is a federal “sunshine” law that provides for public access to information provided to the government upon request. The Act has several statutory exemptions that can be invoked to forestall disclosure of this information. The most frequent objection to the release of EEO-1 data is FOIA’s “Exemption 4,” which prevents the disclosure of “trade secrets and commercial or financial information” that is privileged or confidential. Ordinarily, when a federal agency believes that requested information may be protected from disclosure under FOIA, it must notify the parties who submitted the information—here, federal contractors, so they may object before a ruling regarding disclosure is made. The size of the request has prompted unique responses from the OFCCP and contractors alike.

Notice via Federal Register