The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s initial attempt at a uniform collection of race and gender pay data from U.S. businesses has been closed by Judge Tanya S. Chutkan of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The Judge’s Order was issued today, February 10, 2020. Nearly 90% of employers have submitted data to the EEOC.

The Order ends what had a been a controversial and chaotic process – known as Component 2 of the EEO-1 – which required employers to submit aggregated compensation data to the EEOC. The stated goal was to address the “pay gap” for women and minorities, but debate continues as to the efficacy of the data and the ability of the agency to put the data to a meaningful use. Questions about the security of the data have not ceased.

The EEOC must file a final status report on February 14, 2020 and must retain all the submissions as required by federal law governing records retention. However, both EEOC and OMB are pursuing their appeals, challenging Judge Chutkan’s decisions requiring that the agency continue collecting data beyond its original period.