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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
September 1, 2026
Minnesota Department of Human Rights Joins Civil Rights Agencies Urging Federal Government to Preserve Workforce Demographic Reporting
Ending Equal Employment Opportunity reporting is another significant step in dismantling the nation’s civil rights enforcement framework
[St. Paul, MN] The Minnesota Department of Human Rights joined civil rights enforcement agencies from seven states and the District of Columbia in urging the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to preserve longstanding federal workforce demographic reporting requirements that help agencies identify and address employment discrimination.
In joint comments submitted August 24, 2026, to the federal rulemaking docket, Minnesota and seven counterpart civil rights agencies urged the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to continue workforce demographic reporting requirements, including the EEO-1 report.
“Eliminating Equal Employment Opportunity reporting represents yet another significant step in dismantling our nation’s civil rights enforcement framework,” said Minnesota Department of Human Rights Commissioner Rebecca Lucero. “Everyone has a right to a discrimination-free workplace, and ending workforce data collection will make it harder to root out discrimination where it persists. The Minnesota Department of Human Rights proudly joins other states in rejecting changes that erode essential civil rights protections.”
The comments were jointly submitted by civil rights agencies representing Oregon, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, and the District of Columbia. The agencies urged the EEOC to modernize the reporting system where appropriate rather than eliminate it.
About EEO data
For six decades, EEO workforce data has provided federal, state, and local civil rights agencies, employers, policymakers, and the public with information about patterns of representation across industries, regions, and occupations. The data does not identify individual employees, but can help reveal broader disparities and inform enforcement, education, outreach, and policy decisions.
Ending data collection would weaken civil rights enforcement
The agencies argue that ending the collection would reduce transparency and eliminate an important baseline for assessing whether workforce disparities reflect broader labor-market conditions or potential discrimination. They also reject the premise that collecting demographic information encourages discrimination, noting that identifying disparities does not create them.
Rescinding the federal requirement could shift rather than eliminate costs. State and local civil rights agencies would still need workforce information to investigate discrimination complaints, potentially requiring employers to produce it individually. Without centralized federal collection, employers operating across multiple jurisdictions could face a patchwork of separate state and local requirements.
You can view a copy of the joint comments here and view the full rulemaking docket here.
About the Minnesota Department of Human Rights
The Minnesota Department of Human Rights is the state’s civil rights enforcement agency and is responsible for enforcing the Minnesota Human Rights Act, one of the strongest state civil rights laws in the country.
As part of that mission, the Minnesota Department of Human Rights certifies more than 3,000 state contractors. Workforce and Equal Pay Certificates ensure that companies with large state contracts are maintaining workplaces free from discrimination.
Statements from other civil rights agencies
“Oregon stands with every worker who risks being made invisible by this change,” said Oregon Labor Commissioner Christina Stephenson. “When the federal government removes the data that reveals disparities, that doesn’t mean the disparities disappear; it means the people most harmed by discrimination are easier to ignore. We will not allow those workers to be pushed into the shadows.”
“Every worker deserves a fair opportunity to succeed, and effective enforcement requires the tools to protect that opportunity,” said Illinois Department of Human Rights Director James Bennett. “As federal efforts continue to chip away at civil rights protections, Illinois is proud to stand with our state and federal partners in a unified effort to defend equal opportunity and protect the American people and employers we serve.”
“In the District, protecting equal opportunity means having the information we need to understand where barriers exist and address them,” said Washington D.C. Office of Human Rights Interim Director Elizabeth Fox-Solomon. “Preserving EEO-1 data helps us support compliance, strengthen enforcement, and make sure discrimination and disparities do not go unseen in the communities we serve.”
“We should never confuse the absence of data with the absence of discrimination,” said Cleveland L. Horton II, Executive Director Maryland Commission on Civil Rights. “If we choose not to measure inequity, inequity does not disappear—it simply becomes easier to deny. Civil rights enforcement requires us to be willing to see what is uncomfortable, confront what is unequal, and act when the evidence demands it. Progress has never been achieved by looking away.”
"For decades, the New York State Division of Human Rights has fought to protect the rights of every New Yorker," said New York State Division of Human Rights Commissioner Denise M. Miranda. "Data collection is a vital tool in this effort, helping enforcement agencies uncover systemic patterns of discrimination that can hide in plain sight. Ending longstanding data collection efforts will not make our workplaces more equal—it will only make discrimination harder to root out."
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Media inquiries: Please email media.mdhr@state.mn.us.
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