Notice of Ninth Circuit Court Ruling Impacting Disclosure of EEO-1Type 2 Reports
The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) is notifying federal contractors of a recent federal appellate court decision affecting the disclosure of EEO-1 type 2 report data under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
Background
In 2019, the Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR) submitted a FOIA request for Type 2 Consolidated EEO-1 Report data (Type 2 EEO-1 Reports) submitted by federal contractors and first-tier subcontractors. In June 2022, the FOIA request was amended to include all such data submitted by federal contractors and first-tier subcontractors from 2016 until 2020. The Department withheld certain reports after receiving contractor objections asserting that the information was exempt from disclosure as confidential commercial information.
On November 15, 2022, the Center for Investigative Reporting and Will Evans filed a lawsuit in the Northern District of California against the Department of Labor under FOIA, seeking the processing and release of all requested Type 2 EEO-1 Reports of federal contractors and first-tier subcontractors submitted in reporting years 2016-2020. The case number for this litigation is 3:22-cv-07182-WHA (N.D. Cal.). This follows an earlier decision in the same court involving the same plaintiff holding that certain companies’ EEO-1s were not protected by Exemption 4 of the FOIA. Ctr for Investigative Reporting v. Dep’t of Labor, 424 F. Supp. 3d 771 (N.D. Cal. 2019).
Court Decisions
In April 2023, a district court order in the matter of Center for Investigative Reporting v. U.S. Department of Labor, 3:22-cv-07182-WHA (N.D. Cal.), directed DOL to file a motion for summary judgment addressing the withheld data, based on selected “bellwether” objecting federal contractors, to determine whether the requested Type 2 EEO-1 Reports are exempt from disclosure under FOIA Exemption 4. On December 22, 2023, the district court found that the Type 2 EEO-1 Reports are not commercial in nature for the purpose of Exemption 4 of FOIA and ordered release of the withheld data. DOL appealed this decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and the district court ordered a stay on release of the remaining data pending the appeal decision.
On July 30, 2025, the decision of the Ninth Circuit in Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR) v. U.S. Department of Labor (No. 24-880), directed the release of workforce demographic information submitted by the bellwether federal contractors in Type 2 EEO-1 Reports, as the information does not qualify as confidential commercial information under FOIA Exemption 4. On February 9, 2026, the district court lifted its temporary stay on the release of records and approved a schedule for release. Pursuant to this schedule, 19 Type 2 EEO-1 Reports of the five bellwether objectors from reporting years 2016-2020 are being released on February 11, 2026, and the remaining Type 2 EEO-1 Reports for federal contractors who objected to the release of their Type 2 EEO-1 Report data will be released on February 25, 2026.
Please visit our website for more information.
Contact the OFCCP National FOIA Office
You may contact the OFCCP FOIA Office by phone or email with any questions related to this message. Please note that our business hours are from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., EST, Monday through Friday.
You may contact us at the information below.
National FOIA Office
Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs
U.S. Department of Labor
Helpdesk Number: 1-800-397-6251
Email: OFCCP-FOIA-EEO1-Questions@dol.gov
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