Federal Contractor Data from 2016-2020 EEO-1 Consolidated Reports to Be Posted on OFCCP’s Website

After several years of litigation, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) will be posting federal contractor EEO-1 race/ethnicity and gender data from 2016-2020 in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request from the Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR). The data will be posted on February 25, 2026.

Background on EEO-1 Form and CIR’s FOIA Request

Federal contractors and subcontractors with 50 or more employees, and a contract of $50,000 or more are required to submit an EEO-1 report each year. The EEO-1 report tallies the race/ethnicity and gender composition of the workforce during one payroll period per year, divided into ten categories:

• Executive and Senior Level Officials and Managers
• First- and Mid-Level Officials and Managers
• Professionals
• Technicians
• Sales Workers
• Administrative Support Workers
• Craft Workers
• Operatives
• Laborers
• Service Workers

Employers also are required to report their employee data totals by separate physical building and address locations, and then those are combined into a Consolidated Report. The separate physical building and address locations were not part of the FOIA request. Only the high-level, company-wide Consolidated Reports were sought.

Why Does OFCCP Have This Data?

One of the questions on the EEO-1 form asks the employer whether it is a federal contractor or subcontractor. For any employer that answered yes, the EEOC shared that data with OFCCP. OFCCP used the data (among other sources) to identify employers for compliance evaluations of their equal opportunity and nondiscrimination compliance obligations.

Under federal law, EEOC personnel are criminally prohibited from releasing the data. Thus, the only way for members of the public to access employer workforce information and evaluate those employers’ commitment to diversifying their workforces was to submit a Freedom of Information Act request to OFCCP.

OFCCP afforded government contractors several opportunities to object to disclosure of this employee data. Many employers submitted objections, but the United States District Court for the Northern District of California and now the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals have ruled that these top-line, high-level race/ethnicity and gender counts contained in the Consolidated forms were not confidential commercial data that would reveal information about the companies’ business plans or operations.

Five companies’ data were used as “bellweather” examples during the litigation, and their data was published on February 11. The remaining government contractors who objected to disclosure will see their data released on February 25. If a contractor did not object to their data being released in this case, then it was already made publicly available.

What Are the Takeaways from This Development

With the release of the Consolidated EEO-1 data, employers should expect renewed attention around workforce demographics and analytics. Here are the key takeaways to keep in mind:

Potential Increased Transparency Pressure

Many employers have struggled with whether to publicize their EEO-1 data on external-facing and internal websites in response to demands for greater transparency regarding race/ethnicity and gender diversity. They may have received requests from employee resource groups (ERGs) or been asked to submit the EEO-1 forms to potential clients in proposals. It is possible that the release of this data will re-surface this issue for employers, prompted by both advocates of diversity and skeptics of employer DEI policies. Many employers have taken down this type of information out of concern that it would make them a target under the Trump administration’s anti-DEI initiatives.

Data Can Be Used as a Comparison Tool

Advocacy organizations (both pro-diversity and anti-diversity) potentially could use Consolidated EEO-1 data to compare an individual employer’s workforce composition to aggregated data that the EEOC maintains. It’s uncertain how data from one payroll period during 2016-2020 really says anything concrete about the composition of an employer’s workforce in 2026, but there is a risk in this administration that organizations with significantly higher populations of women and minorities at executive and senior management levels compared to their industry peers could be targeted now by the EEOC itself or anti-diversity advocacy organizations about whether the employer complies with Title VII and equal employment opportunity obligations in making decisions to hire, promote, and terminate.

Communications Teams Should Prepare for Comment

The media may seek company comment on the data’s release. Internal communication departments should be made aware of this upcoming development so they can determine whether and how to respond.

OFCCP’s Regulations Regarding FOIA Requests Are Being Eliminated Consistent with Executive Order 14173

The public’s ability to request EEO-1 data from OFCCP is codified in 41 CFR Part 60-40, a set of regulations which implemented Executive Order 11246. Executive Order 14173 issued on January 21, 2025, rescinded Executive Order 11246. Thereafter, on July 1, 2025, OFCCP proposed rescinding 41 CFR Part 60-40 (among other regulations). Once the EO 11246 implementing regulations officially are rescinded, the public’s ability to obtain any company’s EEO-1 records through a FOIA request will have been eliminated.

OutSolve’s EEO-1 Reporting Consultant, Chris Foley, chimed in on the matter saying, “No action needs to be taken at this time by federal contractors who are affected. The Court Order will not extend past 2020 data, and the OFCCP no longer will receive copies for EEO-1 Reports filed by federal contractors.”

If you have additional questions, please reach out to an OutSolve Consultant today. Or, continue the conversation in HR Gumbo City, our vibrant Slack community where HR professionals can go to ask questions, get insights, and have first access to exclusive resources and webinar invites.