Final Rules Released for Federal Contractor Paid Sick Leave and New EEO-1 Report

Thursday was a busy day, with the announcement of two long-awaited final rules from the EEOC and the US Department of Labor (“DOL”). The EEOC released the final version of the revised EEO-1 form, and the DOL released the final paid sick leave rule for federal contractors. (And, as we reported yesterday, the US House of Representatives also passed a bill earlier this week that would delay implementation of the Department of Labor’s new overtime rule.)

EEO-1 Pay Data Rule

Following a revised proposal in July, the EEOC has announced the final revised version of the EEO-1 form, which will require employers to report employee pay data beginning with the 2017 report. The 2017 report will be the first to include the new information. The deadline to file the 2017 report is March 31, 2018, giving employers six additional months to prepare their report. The report for 2016 (which is not affected by this new rule) is still due today, September 30, 2016.

Paid Sick Leave

Not to be left out, the DOL also announced the final regulation on paid sick leave for federal contractors. The rule was first announced in President Obama’s September 2015 executive order and proposed rules were announced in February 2016. The final rule will go into effect for new solicitations issued on or after January 1, 2017, and will require employers to provide one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours of work, up to a total of 56 hours of paid sick leave per year. The rule will apply to employees of covered federal contractors who work “on” or “in connection with” a covered government contract.