In December 2020, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) issued a new process for requesting opinion letters, and also released a new data tool named EEOC Explore.

The EEOC’s new process for requesting opinion letters states that requests must be in writing, signed by the person making the request, specifically request an “opinion letter,” and addressed to the Chair, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 131 M Street, NE., Washington, DC 20507.  Requests also should be sent to EEOCopinionletters@eeoc.gov.  The request must contain a concise statement of the issues, the names and addresses of the person making the request and of other interested persons, as full a statement as possible of all known relevant facts and law, and a statement of reasons why the Title VII or Age Discrimination in Employment Act Formal Opinion Letter should be issued.  An employer also may request an opinion letter under the Americans with Disabilities Act, Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, or Equal Pay Act, but these laws do not extend a defense to employers who comply with the terms of an EEOC Formal Opinion Letter.

The EEOC also has released EEOC Explore, a new interactive tool that tracks employment data trends from the privacy-protected demographic data from EEO-1 reports.  This tool allows users to explore and compare data trends from the demographic data provided in the EEO-1 reports, including location, sex, race and ethnicity, and industry sector.

For more information, please contact your Labor & Employment law counsel at Smith, Gambrell, & Russell, LLP.