As we reported a few weeks ago, in April newly appointed Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Chair Charlotte Burrows (D) rescinded a policy adopted by the agency during the Trump Administration that restricted the EEOC from sharing data reported by an employer – including EEO-1 “Component 2” pay and hours-worked data – with a state Fair Employment Practices Agency (FEPA) unless the employer was a respondent to a charge of discrimination.[1]
The Trump-era policy[2] was strongly opposed by worker advocates and their allies, including Chair Burrows, who had opposed its adoption while she served as a Commissioner. Opponents claimed among other things that the policy was inconsistent with Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, violated FEPA-EEOC “work-sharing agreements,” and was issued in violation of the federal Administrative Procedure Act (APA).
The policy was subsequently challenged on those and other grounds in a lawsuit filed in federal court last October brought by the states of California, Minnesota, and Maryland.[3] That lawsuit was pending at the time Chair Burrows, who was appointed EEOC Chair by President Biden in January, announced on April 9, 2021, that she was revoking the policy and essentially restoring unlimited data sharing with the FEPAs.
Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC) can read more here.