A federal appeals court has vacated an order from the Federal Communications Commission that would have required broadcasters to file annual workplace demographic reports similar to the EEO-1.
The FCC mandated these reports from 1970 to 2001 until court rulings led to their suspension. Last year, the FCC voted 3 to 2 to reinstate Form 395-B, demanding demographic data from broadcasters.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit invalidated the FCC order May 19 in National Religious Broadcasters v. FCC. The court stated that the Communications Act did not authorize the FCC to collect employment data from broadcasters. The court rejected the FCC’s argument that Congress had ratified such authority in 1992, noting that the 1992 Congressional amendments related to FCC regulations were later found unconstitutional. The FCC is unlikely to appeal, given the current political environment.
Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC), our affiliated nonprofit membership association, can read more here.