On July 14, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced changes to its proposed employer pay data collection proposal. The proposal would require employers to submit on an annual basis summary pay information for listed job categories, broken down by ethnicity and gender. The rule applies to all employers with 100 or more employees that already file EEO-1 reports. The EEOC would use this information to determine whether employers appear to be discriminating against employees by paying less based on race or gender.

Among other concerns, employers complained that the pay collection and reporting requirements imposed an unreasonable burden on companies subject to the rules. The EEOC responded by announcing changes to the proposal that would allow employers to use existing W-2 salary information to complete the reports. The revisions also attempt to better account for pay disparities based on part-time employment. Finally, the EEOC will delay the first report from September 30, 2017 to March 31, 2018 to give employers time to adjust to the new requirement.

The EEOC announced a new 30-day period for employers to comment on the proposal changes. The final pay data collection rules should be finalized by the end of 2016.