NT Lakis lawyers have filed written comments with the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regarding OMB’s recently announced review and possible “limited” revision of the Standards for the Classification of Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity (the “1997 Standards”). The 1997 Standards set the framework for the classifications of race and ethnicity data used by federal agencies, including the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), and the Labor Department’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP). OMB is the federal agency responsible for setting the Standards.
In a Federal Register notice published on September 30, 2016, OMB announced it is inviting public comments on four specific topics being considered for revision, including the utility of the so-called “two-question format” as the preferred method of soliciting race and ethnicity data, and the possible addition of a Middle Eastern and North African group classification and reporting category.
In response, our comments urge OMB to carefully consider the practical and financial impact any modifications to the 1997 Standards may have on regulated businesses, and we recommend specifically against any changes that would require employers to change the manner in which they solicit, collect, maintain, and report ethnicity data to the federal government, most notably, through the Employer Information (EEO-1) Report. Our comments also recommend that the 1997 Standards be revised to clarify that the two-question format is no longer the “preferred method for collecting data on race and ethnicity.”
Members of the Equal Employment Advisory Council (EEAC) can read more here.