EEOC Plans Office Reorganization in Latest Trump-Era Shift (1)

The EEOC has informed Congress it will embark on an internal restructuring that will cut its principal data and analytics office, transferring its functions to other parts of the agency.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s new plan will dissolve the Office of Enterprise and Data Analytics and also centralize its outreach, education, and training functions within the Office of Communication and Legislative Affairs, according to a letter reviewed by Bloomberg Law.

The civil rights agency has made a slew of changes to its approach and operations under Republican Acting Chair Andrea Lucas, who signed the letter to lawmakers dated Sept. 15.

The reorganization plan will not include a reduction in agency staff, the EEOC told Congress.

The letter said functions of the data department will be transferred across the agency to various other offices like the Office of Chief Information Officer, the Office of Field Programs, the Office of General Counsel, and the Office of Chief Financial Officer.

“These changes will enhance operational efficiencies, encourage intra-agency collaboration, and ensure that the EEOC is providing the most effective services to American workers,” the letter said.

The Office of Enterprise and Data Analytics was established in 2018 under Republican Acting Chair Victoria Lipnic. The aim was to modernize the agency’s data analytics systems and make EEOC data available to internal and external users.

Part of its functions included administering the agency’s EEO-1 reports. Those reports require companies with at least 100 employees to disclose data on their workers’ sex, race, and ethnicity.

Although some labor attorneys and advocacy groups voiced concern about whether the EEOC would follow through with this year’s collection, the agency launched the annual workforce demographic data collections in May.

The agency’s EEO-1 functions do not appear to be affected by the current reorganization plan.

Experts within the data office also supported the EEOC and field offices with systemic cases, including those based on disparate treatment and disparate impact theories, said DCI Consulting founder David Cohen. His firm assists employers with systemic compensation analyses.

President Donald Trump in April directed federal agencies to eliminate their use of disparate impact, a legal theory based on biased systemic effects of a facially neutral employer policy that often relies on data and statistics.

“The EEOC is steadfast in enforcing federal civil rights laws and protecting equal opportunity,” an agency spokesperson said in a statement on the Sept. 15 letter. “To better serve the public, we are uniting expertise and streamlining operations to ensure the agency is as effective and efficient as possible.”