Trump Administration Moves to Stop Collecting Demographic Data on U.S. Workers After 60 Years

The Republican-majority Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has voted to eliminate a requirement that employers submit demographic data on their workforces, a move championed by Chair Andrea Lucas and hailed as a victory by some conservatives who claim it will reduce “unnecessary burdens” on businesses.

Since 1966, employers with over 100 employees or federal contractors with 50 or more have been required to submit an EEO-1 form annually, detailing the number of male and female workers in various job categories, as well as the racial and ethnic breakdown of their workforce. This data has proven invaluable in identifying trends, tracking progress, and holding employers accountable for discriminatory practices.

The EEOC’s argument that this requirement is unnecessary and burdensome rings hollow. The agency claims that the demographic data collected under the EEO-1 form “may have the unintended effect of promoting, rather than reducing, discrimination.” However, there is no evidence to support this assertion, and it reflects a disturbingly cavalier attitude towards civil rights.

The decision aligns with President Trump’s broader agenda to eliminate offices, programs, and laws supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion practices. Chair Lucas has expressed her vision for the agency as “a more conservative view of civil rights,” which is code for reducing enforcement efforts and creating a more hostile environment for marginalized communities.

Without access to demographic data, it becomes exponentially harder to identify and address discriminatory practices. The EEOC’s own numbers tell the story: in fiscal year 2025, the agency processed over 88,000 discrimination charges and secured $660 million for victims. Eliminating this requirement would essentially gut the Commission’s ability to protect workers.

Civil rights groups have responded swiftly and scathingly to the decision. Kalpana Kotagal, the EEOC’s lone Democratic commissioner, slammed the decision as “kneecapping its ability to protect workers” and lamented a potential return to a pre-civil rights era. Deborah Vagins of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights called the move a “latest attack on civil rights,” warning that without data collection, “discrimination does not go away when you don’t assess it; it just makes it harder to prove.”

This decision is part of a broader pattern of erosion in civil rights enforcement under the Trump administration. As seen with rollbacks on voting rights and affirmative action, this administration has consistently prioritized the interests of powerful corporate entities over those of marginalized communities.

The EEOC’s move to end data collection requirements serves as a stark reminder that even seemingly innocuous policies can have far-reaching consequences when wielded by a zealous ideologue. The timely and consistent collection of demographic data is critical to enforcing civil rights laws and ensuring equal opportunity in the workplace, as warned by Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester and Rep. Jerrold Nadler: “The EEOC’s decision to eliminate this requirement will undermine decades of progress in combating workplace discrimination.”