The Pay Data Patchwork

As the EEOC has stepped back, states have stepped in ... 

For decades, the EEO-1 survey had been the bedrock of workforce demographic reporting. It established a singular, largely stable federal framework for employers across the U.S.  

And then came “Component 2” ... Introduced under the Obama administration in 2016, Component 2 incorporated pay data into the three traditional demographic reporting elements: race/ethnicity, gender and job category. Though seemingly simple, this addition ballooned the existing survey from 140 possible data combinations to 1,680 related to race, sex, job category and pay. 

Ultimately, Component 2 survived just one delayed reporting cycle: in 2019, for both the 2017 and 2018 reporting years. It ended with the arrival of the first Trump administration. But the impact reverberated across the country. As the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission retreated, California sprinted forward, adopting pay data reporting in 2020, and it expanded its requirements every year thereafter. Illinois, Massachusetts and New York City have all followed suit as part of broader pay transparency initiatives. 

The result?

HR outsourcers must contend with an ever-evolving, growing patchwork of reporting requirements across jurisdictions, which may also carry distinct underlying data collection obligations. 

Here is an overview of the state and local requirements impacting private employers. 

California  

State: California

Next Submission Deadline: May 13, 2026 

Subject Employers: Employers with 100 or more employees or 100 or more laborer contractors must file an annual report. The count is based on a self-determined, fourth-quarter snapshot pay-reporting period; however, employers who regularly meet the threshold during the year are also subject. Active and on-leave employees and contractors anywhere in the world are included in the count, but only data for those working from or reporting to a California establishment need to be included in the report. 

Unique Features: 

Reporting Structure: Similar to the short-lived EEO-1 Component 2, employees are reported in aggregate without identifying information, and they are grouped by their: 

• Establishment (the location an employee works from or reports to)
• Race/Ethnicity
• Sex
• Job Category
• Pay Band

Total employee counts, remote employee counts, aggregate hours worked, and mean and median hourly rates are reported for each unique grouping combination.  

• Labor Contractor Reporting: California has a distinct reporting obligation for subject employers with contract workers. Demographic and payroll data must be obtained from third-party staffing agencies, as necessary, to complete the reporting. Employers who meet both the employee count and contractor thresholds must file both reports. 

• Self-Identification: Similar to EEO-1 reporting, but distinct from Illinois, employers must attribute an applicable race/ethnicity and sex category to all employees. For employees who choose not to self-identify, employers must make a reasonable determination. Unlike the federal survey, sex includes nonbinary. 

What’s New? 

Beginning with 2025 reporting, due this May, employees must now also be grouped by overtime exemption status and employment type (full time, part time and intermittent). Aggregate weeks worked, including paid time off, must also be reported for each grouping. Finally, the new “Middle Eastern or North African” (MENA) race/ethnicity category, which was optional last year, is now required.  

What’s Next? 

SB 464, enacted Oct. 13, 2025, replaces the existing set of job categories, which align with EEO-1 reporting, with 23 new categories that align with Standard Occupational Code (SOC) groupings. This change is effective Jan. 1, 2027, impacting next year’s reporting cycle and positioning California even further from the federal framework. 

Illinois

State: Illinois

Next Submission Deadline: Illinois has a staggered, biennial filing requirement, as part of the Equal Pay Registration Certificate process. The Illinois Labor Department provides newly subject employers with an initial filing deadline. Thereafter, employers must recertify within two years of the date that its last certificate was issued. 

Subject Employers: Employers with 100 or more Illinois-based employees. This includes employees physically working at a worksite located in state and remote employees reporting to management located in state. The count for the current year is determined on Dec. 31 of the prior year. 

Unique Features: 

• Reporting Structure: The report includes all “Illinois employees” who worked at any time during the year. Employees are reported individually, by name and partial Social Security number, with demographic and wage data listed for each. Employees may be listed multiple times, with hire and termination dates, to reflect rehires and job classification changes during the year. 

• Self-Identification: “Prefers not to identify” is a valid reporting option for both race and gender, although employers may still make a reasonable determination for employees who decline to self-identify. Unlike the federal survey, gender includes nonbinary. And unlike both the federal and California report, ethnicity is reported separately from race. 

What’s New? 

In 2025, Illinois added MENA to the list of racial categories and expanded the file structure to include indicators for: 

• Collective bargaining agreement coverage 
• Salary or hourly pay basis 
• Hourly pay rate 

Additionally, on June 30, 2025, Illinois amended its underlying Equal Pay Act, removing any references to or association with EEO-1 reporting.  

What’s Next? The inaugural certification deadline for subject employers was March 23, 2024, and almost 80% of initial certifications were approved that year. As a result, the first biennial recertification deadline for most subject employers is quickly approaching.  

Massachusetts 

State: Massachusetts

Next Submission Deadline: Feb. 1, 2027  

Subject Employers: Employers with 100 or more in-state employees at any time during the prior year, who are also subject to EEOC reporting requirements, namely the EEO-1 and EEO-4. Employers subject to EEO-1 reporting must file annually while EEO-4 filers are biennial. 

Unique Features: 

• Reporting Structure: Although billed as a “wage data” report, Massachusetts simply requires employers to upload a PDF copy of their EEO-1 report, which, as currently designed, does not include pay data.  

• Self-Identification: The MENA race classification has yet to be implemented federally, and a nonbinary sex option has never been formally incorporated into the report structure. Prior guidance permitting nonbinary employees to be reported in the comments section of the EEO-1 was removed in 2025.   

What’s New? 

February 2026 marked just the second Massachusetts reporting cycle for EEO‑1 employers and the first for EEO‑4 filers (state and local government entities). During the inaugural year, misaligned federal and state timelines created practical challenges for some HROs and employers. The federal EEO‑1 portal closed in June, before Massachusetts finalized its own upload process, leaving employers without access to a retrievable copy of their federal report when state filing became available. 

With the Massachusetts submission process now firmly established, HROs are better positioned to coordinate federal and state reporting. As the federal EEO‑1 portal reopens, this year’s filings can be planned and executed with greater alignment. 

What’s Next? 

When Massachusetts adopted its reporting requirement, the EEOC under the Biden administration was signaling a potential return of pay data to EEO-1 reporting. That development now appears highly unlikely to materialize under the Trump administration. However, this highlights the inherent tension in a state’s reliance on federal reporting structures: alignment offers simplicity at the cost of control.  While no amendments are currently pending in Massachusetts, federal changes—or a prolonged lack thereof—could spark future state activity. 

New York City 

City: New York

Next Submission Deadline: To be determined. NYC Local Law 173 (2025), recently enacted on Dec. 4, 2025, establishes a basic pay data reporting framework. It directs the mayor to designate an agency to design the reporting structure and mechanics. Inaugural submissions will be due within a year after the program is fully established by the city. 

Subject Employers: Employers with over 200 employees in New York City at any point during the reporting year. 

Unique Features: 

• Reporting Structure: The agency designing the report is instructed to include EEO-1 Component 2 reporting data and exclude employee personal information. However, it is also empowered to adopt modifications and craft a distinctly New York City format, instead of merely copying the old Component 2 structure. 

• Self-Identification: Local Law 173 specifically acknowledges the possibility for additional “reporting options accounting for different gender identities.” Whether this equates simply to three options (male, female and nonbinary) or an even more expansive approach, remains to be seen. 

What’s New? New York City is now the first municipal government to adopt stand-alone pay data reporting for nonpublic employers. However, its law currently serves more as a legislative roadmap for the city rather than an operational compliance obligation for employers. 

What’s Next? Forthcoming reporting details, processes and infrastructure will ultimately guide HROs’ approach to managing this new requirement.  

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Chris Babigian is PrismHR’s compliance strategy manager. He earned his J.D. from Boston University School of Law with a concentration in tax law and spent five years in private practice before joining PrismHR in 2014. Since then, he has focused on translating complex payroll and HR regulatory requirements into practical software solutions.