On July 23, 2026, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued a proposed rule that would eliminate the requirements for filing EEO-1, EEO-2, EEO-3, EEO-4, EEO-5, and EEO-6 reports and the related recordkeeping. As reported in Lake Effect’s June 1 Blog, the EEOC previously signaled its intent to eliminate these requirements by filing a proposal with the federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
Now that the proposed rule has been issued, the EEOC will hold a public hearing on August 11, 2026, and is accepting public comments until August 24, 2026. It is not clear how soon the proposed rule could be finalized, and employers should plan to collect data needed to file this year’s reports as in past years, until further notice from the EEOC.
Employers may also have state-specific reporting obligations to consider. California, Illinois, and Massachusetts have adopted data reporting obligations for employers with 100 or more workers, and other states have considered and taken various measures to promote pay transparency and pay equity. If you need assistance with the data collection process, the Lake Effect team is available to help.
The attorneys and HR professionals at Lake Effect can provide guidance on employment-related agency and legislative actions, employment laws, regulations, and agency guidelines. We continue to monitor important legal and HR developments, as well as other information that could impact the workplace. Please watch our blogs and emails for these important updates, as well as discussions of how compliance meets culture. To dive into these issues, contact us at info@le-hrlaw.com or 1-844-333-5253.
