As You Sow Sues to Force EEOC to Resume EEO-1 Data Collection
As You Sow sued to compel EEOC to keep collecting detailed workforce demographic data.
Why it matters: Workforce demographic data is key for enforcing equal employment laws and tracking corporate diversity efforts. The lawsuit challenges the EEOC's move away from collecting this data, which could impact employers and compliance requirements.
- On June 18, 2026, As You Sow filed a FOIA lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Labor to release EEO-1 data from 2021 and 2022.
- EEOC proposes ending collection of race, sex, and national origin data from major U.S. companies, reversing practices from the 1960s civil rights era.
- The Ninth Circuit ordered Labor to release contractor EEO-1 data from 2016-2020 after a 2025 FOIA request by the Center for Investigative Reporting.
- As You Sow's analysis of 1,641 companies shows significant links between workforce diversity and financial performance across eight key metrics.
The nonprofit As You Sow has initiated a FOIA lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Labor seeking release of detailed EEO-1 workforce composition data for 2021 and 2022. This data, collected by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), has long monitored the demographic makeup of major U.S. employers.
The EEOC has recently proposed to stop collecting demographic details such as race, sex, and national origin, which it has gathered since the civil rights movement in the 1960s. This marks a major policy shift, stirring concerns among advocates about reduced transparency in corporate diversity reporting.
As You Sow's president, Danielle Fugere, said, "EEO-1 workforce data has long served as the bare minimum for evaluating corporate performance in creating equitable and effective workplace hiring programs." CEO Andrew Behar added, "Transparency is essential for accountability. When the public loses access to objective data, it becomes far more difficult to assess corporate performance and measure progress."
Recent legal precedents underscore the importance and contentiousness of this data. In 2025, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ordered the Department of Labor to release data submitted by contractors from 2016 to 2020 after a FOIA request from investigative journalists. Earlier in 2023, nearly 20,000 federal contractors’ EEO-1 reports were released publicly by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs.
As You Sow’s 2023 report titled "Capturing the Diversity Benefit" analyzed data from 1,641 companies over five years, unveiling statistically significant correlations between workforce diversity and improved financial performance on eight key metrics, highlighting the data’s value beyond regulatory compliance.
The ongoing legal challenge aims to ensure that detailed workforce demographic data remains accessible for enforcing equal employment laws, informing public accountability, and guiding corporate diversity initiatives across the U.S.
By the numbers:
- 1,641 companies — analyzed in As You Sow's 2023 diversity-financial performance report
- 19,277 federal contractors — whose EEO-1 data was released in April 2023
- 2016–2020 — years of contractor data ordered released by Ninth Circuit in 2025
Yes, but: The EEOC has not publicly detailed specific reasons for ending its demographic data collection, leaving uncertainty about its motivations and future enforcement strategies.
What's next: As You Sow's FOIA lawsuit will challenge the EEOC and Department of Labor’s stance, with potential court rulings expected to influence how workforce demographic data is collected and used.