In a major development that goes to the heart of affirmative action compliance and corporate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a set of initial proposals for revising the standards that federal agencies use to collect race and ethnicity data. These initial proposals include adding a new race and ethnicity category for individuals who identify as Middle Eastern or North African and updating various definitions. OMB is seeking public comments on the proposed changes to the standards—formally known as Statistical Policy Directive No. 15 (SPD 15): Standards for Maintaining, Collecting, and Presenting Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity—which have been in effect for more than 25 years. The deadline for submitting comments is April 12, 2023.
Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC) can read more here.