Employer payroll data collection appears in Biden’s regulatory plan

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission plans to issue proposed rules next year on collecting pay data from employers, under a new regulatory plan released by the Biden administration.

If passed, the proposal could provide a basis for reinstating a controversial Obama-era requirement that large companies annually submit pay data to the EEOC that breaks down workers’ comp by race, gender and job classification.

That reporting order became bogged down in contentious litigation during the Trump administration, ultimately leading to court-ordered, time-limited pay reporting. The commission later decided to halt data collection pending further study, but the current Democratic majority on the EEOC has signaled interest in reinstating pay data collection.

The EEOC said it is targeting January 2025 for its proposed rule. Its plan emerged Friday as part of its spring 2024 rulemaking agenda, which also included priorities from the Labor Department and other agencies.

An EEOC spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.