In a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) published on July 23, 2026, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) proposed to remove the longstanding requirement for the filing of the EEO-1, EEO-2, EEO-3, EEO-4, EEO-5, and EEO-6 reports, and the recordkeeping and record preservation requirements related to these reports. These reports contain workforce demographic data, including data by job category, sex, race, and ethnicity. EEO reports typically have been used to investigate allegations of employment discrimination and to identify occupations and industries where there may be barriers to equal opportunity. EEO-1, which has been required since 1966, applies to private sector employers than with 100 or more employees.

EEOC determined that it is not required to impose these reporting requirements on regulated entities and that the Commission has the discretion to eliminate them if they are inconsistent with the law, no longer useful to enforce anti-discrimination laws, or counter to the EEOC’s enforcement priorities. In its justification for removal of the reporting requirement, EEOC claims that the reports may hinder effective enforcement of the EEO laws and may violate the U.S. Constitution, due in part to their requirement that employers classify workers by race and sex. EEOC, however, acknowledged that it often will need to request information related to employees’ protected characteristics in the context of a particular charge or lawsuit but is not requiring the wholesale collection of such information, unconnected to any specific allegation of discrimination.

EEOC also cites the significant burden that these reports impose both on the EEOC and the regulated entities that file these reports as another basis for removing the reporting requirement. EEOC estimates nearly $270 million in cost savings to private employers per year as a result of the removal of the EEO-1 reporting requirement alone.

Comments on the NPRM are due on or before August 24. A public hearing concerning this proposal will be held on August 11 at 10:00 a.m. Parties interested in testifying at the hearing should submit a written request no later than August 7.