The U.S. Census Bureau has proposed regulations to prohibit questions about race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation on the decennial census questionnaire or any questionnaire used to enumerate the U.S. population.
The Census Bureau argues that the questions do not directly support the constitutional purpose of the census and may reduce response rates or increase privacy concerns.
The proposal also would change who is counted for Congressional apportionment by excluding many non-citizens from the population count.
The proposal would not restrict the Census Bureau’s ability to collect demographic information through the American Community Survey or other surveys. The ACS is a source of demographic information for many employment-related analyses.
The deadline for public comments on the proposal is October 13.
In the employment context, the key issue is whether the proposal signals broader changes that could affect federal demographic data that employers use for workforce benchmarking, labor market analyses, and other compliance purposes.
Click here to read more from the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC), our affiliated nonprofit membership association.