The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has extended the deadline for employers to submit EEO-1 Reports for 2018. The reports are now due by May 31, 2019.

What is the EEO-1 Report?

The EEO-1 Report is a federally mandated survey that collects workforce data from employers. The data is categorized by race, ethnicity, sex and job category. The EEOC uses this information to enforce federal prohibitions against employment discrimination and discriminatory pay practices.

The EEO-1 Report is an annual survey required under Title VII of the federal Civil Rights Act (Title VII). Under the law, employers with 100 or more employees and certain federal contractors must use the EEO-1 Online Filing System to submit employment data by March 31 every year. The EEOC extended the 2019 deadline because the federal government shutdown delayed the online system’s opening for 2018 reports. The EEOC expects the system to become available for 2018 submissions in early March 2019.

What’s Next?

Employers should monitor the EEO-1 website for more information about EEO-1 filing requirements and about when the filing system will be open for 2018 Reports. In the meantime, employers filing EEO-1 Reports for the first time should register to receive a company login, password and further instructions from the EEOC.

If the preparation or filing of an EEO-1 Report would create undue hardship, an employer may send a written request for an exemption or for special reporting procedures to the EEOC. Employers may also obtain a one-time, 30-day extension of the EEO-1 filing deadline by emailing a request to the EEOC.

According to a Gallup poll, 70 percent of U.S. workers aren’t engaged at work. This statistic should alarm employers across the country, as low engagement means employees are not committed to their own success in the workplace, let alone the organization’s.

Investing in employee engagement might seem unjustifiable for a business that is focused solely on profits, as it might not recognize the benefits of engaged employees. One simple and cost-effective way that you can improve employee engagement at your organization is by improving and expanding your communications strategies.

Typical benefits and workplace communications can be bland and difficult to understand, but they don’t have to be. The key messages for each topic in an effective communications plan should be simple, relatable and actionable—and presented in a variety of content formats that you can use to communicate through multiple channels.

By implementing a multichannel communication strategy, where you use posters, emails, flyers and videos to communicate company and benefits information, your message will reach more employees. This will help employees feel more informed about your company, which, in turn, will improve their workplace engagement.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) recently released a The Economics Daily (TED) report on civilian access to paid and unpaid family leave in 2018. These statistics provide insight into family leave benefits trends across the country. For this report, family leave included leave to care for family members, maternity and paternity leave.

Paid Family Leave Access

In March 2018, 16 percent of workers in the private sector and 17 percent of civilian workers had access to paid family leave. In the public sector, 25 percent of state and local government workers had access to this type of leave. Leave access varied by the size of the employer.

Unpaid Family Leave Access

In March 2018, 89 percent of civilian workers and 88 percent of private sector employees had access to unpaid family leave. Ninety-four percent of state and local government workers had access to this type of leave. As with paid family leave, access to leave varied by employer size.

For access to the BLS data, click here.

The most important tasks in conducting a job interview are preparing questions and evaluating candidate answers. However, there are other key items you can attend to that will ensure a successful job interview. Learn the action steps you need to know by watching the video below.