An Equal Employment Opportunity Program (EEOP) is an all-encompassing program with several components which address the ways an organization ensures equal employment opportunities are available to all groups of people, specifically addressing the level of participation of minorities and women in the organization's workforce. One component of an organization's EEOP is a comprehensive written Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Plan, described in FAQ #3, which includes as a sub-component an EEO Utilization Report, described in FAQ #33, which must be submitted to the Office for Civil Rights (OCR). Please note that even recipients of Department of Justice funding which are exempt from the EEOP requirement, see FAQ #11, must prepare and submit a Verification Form, described in FAQ #29, to the OCR to either claim the exemption or to acknowledge reporting requirements.

The EEOP is required by a federal regulation that implements the provision prohibiting employment discrimination in the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (Safe Streets Act). With some exceptions, recipients of Justice Department funding subject to the civil rights requirements of the Safe Streets Act must create and implement an EEO Plan in accordance with 28 C.F.R. § 42.301-.308.

A recipient is any entity organization that receives financial assistance, either directly or through another entity as a sub-recipient, from the Department of Justice (Office of Justice Programs (OJP), Office on Violence Against Women (OVW), the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS)) under the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (Safe Streets Act), the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA), the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Action or sources otherwise subject to the civil rights provisions of the Safe Streets Act.

An Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Plan is a comprehensive workforce report that certain recipients must develop and implement in an ongoing manner as a condition of receiving Department of Justice funding subject to the civil rights provisions of the Safe Streets Act. (See FAQ #2) A written EEO Plan is a component of a recipient's EEO Program which describes in detail the recipient's efforts to ensure equal employment opportunities to men and women regardless of sex, race or national origin.  To verify whether your organization is subject to the civil rights requirements of the Safe Streets Act, please see FAQ #9.

** Please be aware that the written EEO Plan should include more information than the EEO Utilization Report submitted to the OCR, as a Utilization Report is a sub-component of a more comprehensive EEO Plan. Please see FAQ #4 for more details regarding what an EEO Plan should include.

Justice Department regulations pertaining to the development, implementation, and maintenance of a comprehensive EEO Plan can be found at 28 C.F.R. § 42.301-.308 as well as on each organization's grant assurance package.

Recipients (see FAQ #2 for definition of recipient) of Justice Department funding that are subject to the civil rights requirements of the Safe Streets Act are required to collect, analyze and maintain data pertaining to the race, national origin and sex of applicants and employees in connection with the following employment practices:

• Recruitment
• Applicant screening
• Hiring
• Promotion
• Termination
• Transfer
• Discipline

For a complete listing of the data that recipients are required to collect, analyze and maintain see 28 C.F.R. § 42.301-.308.

A recipient subject to the civil rights requirements of the Safe Streets Act (please see FAQ #9 if you are unsure whether your award is subject to these civil rights regulations) must develop and implement a comprehensive EEO Plan if it meets ALL of the following criteria:

• The recipient is a state or local government agency or a business; AND
• The recipient has 50 or more employees; AND
• The recipient has received at least a single award of $25,000 or more.

Recipients are NOT required to submit their entire comprehensive written EEO Plan to the Department of Justice, Office for Civil Rights. Instead, certain direct recipients are required to develop and submit an EEO Utilization Report, a sub-component of their comprehensive written plan to OCR. Reporting requirements vary, and criteria for determining each recipient reporting obligation is set forth in the chart below.  We strongly recommend that recipients use the online EEO Reporting System to submit the appropriate report. The reporting system can be found at https://ojp.gov/about/ocr/eeop.htm.

Subrecipients have the same compliance requirements as direct recipients. However, it is the obligation of the direct recipient to monitor compliance. (See FAQ #18). OCR encourages direct recipients to have their subrecipients use the EEO Utilization Report builder available at: 

	Does the recipient need to submit a Verification Form to the OCR?	Does the recipient need to develop an overall EEOP for the Department of Justice?	Must the recipient submit an EEO Utilization Report to the OCR?	Approval letter required for compliance?
Largest individual grant received is $500,000 or more	YES	YES	YES	YES
Largest individual grant is $25,000 or more but less than $500,000	YES	YES	YES	NO
UNLESS….
Recipient is a Medical or Educational Institution, Indian Tribe, or Nonprofit	YES	NO	NO	NO
Largest individual grant received is less than $25,000	YES	NO	NO	NO
Recipient has less than 50 employees	YES	NO	NO	NO

Prepare and Submit an EEO Verification Form and Utilization Report at: https://ojp.gov/about/ocr/eeop.htm

All direct recipients must submit a Verification Form each year. Please see FAQ #29 for detailed information about Verification Forms.

If your organization is required to develop an EEO Utilization Report, and continues to receive funding from a covered program, an updated EEO Utilization Report must be submitted to the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) every two years.  The due date of the initial report is 120 days after the award date of the initial covered award and subsequent submissions are due two years after the date on the previous approval letter from OCR.

Subrecipients must similarly comply through their direct recipients.

Recipients of OJP, OVW, or COPS Office funding should carefully review the applicable grant conditions for their specific OJP, OVW, or COPS Office grant award to determine their obligations under the Safe Streets Act’s nondiscrimination provision.  See FAQ #2 for related statutes and See U.S. Department of Justice Grant Programs Covered by the Nondiscrimination Provision of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 for a partial list of covered programs.  

If you still have questions as to whether your Department of Justice award is subject to the Safe Streets Act's EEOP requirements, your Department of Justice program manager, or, if you are a sub-recipient, the direct recipient entity can assist you with determining the source of your organization’s funding.

Recipients subject to the authority of the civil rights requirements of the Safe Streets Act (please see FAQ #2 and FAQ #9  if you are unsure whether your award is subject to these civil rights requirements) must develop a comprehensive EEO Plan and submit an EEO Utilization Report if they meet ALL of the following criteria:

• The recipient is a state or local government agency or a business; AND
• The recipient has 50 or more employees; AND
• The recipient has received at least a single award of $25,000 or more.

All direct recipients which are required to create and implement a comprehensive Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Plan must develop and submit an EEO Utilization Report to the Office for Civil Rights. We strongly recommend using the online EEO Reporting System which can be found at https://ojp.gov/about/ocr/eeop.htm.  Subrecipients may develop reports for review by their direct recipient at: https://www.ojp.gov/program/civil-rights-office/data-tools

Although recipients of all Justice Department funds must comply with applicable federal laws prohibiting discrimination in employment and in the delivery of services or benefits, a recipient is exempt from EEOP regulations if it:

• is a nonprofit organization, a medical or educational institution or an Indian Tribe; OR
• has less than 50 employees; OR
• received a single largest award of less than $25,000.

To claim the exemption from developing a comprehensive EEO Plan, direct recipients must submit a Verification Form using the online EEO Reporting System found at https://ojp.gov/about/ocr/eeop.htm.

No. Although in the past direct recipients were not routinely required to submit an EEO Utilization Report if they had not received a single award of $500,000 or more, the OCR is now requiring these recipients to submit their Utilization Report as well. Please note that the OCR will review every Utilization Report from direct recipients receiving a single largest award of $500,000 or more and that these will require an approval letter from OCR to be compliant. Direct recipients receiving between $25,000 and $499,999 should submit their Utilization Report to OCR through the reporting system.  The submission alone satisfies this category of recipients' reporting obligation and, consequently, they do not need and will not receive an approval letter from OCR to be considered compliant. However, submissions from recipients in this latter category will be spot-checked and are subject to the same standards as those that are routinely reviewed.

All subrecipients of awards greater than $25,000 must similarly comply with the EEOP requirements.  Maintenance of records and review of written reports are the responsibility of the direct recipient that sub awarded the funds.  (Also see FAQ #18)

All direct recipients which are required to develop an EEO Utilization Report must submit the report to the Office for Civil Rights.

Please note that the OCR will review every Utilization Report from direct recipients receiving a single award of $500,000 or more and that these will require an approval letter to be compliant. The OCR will spot check Utilization Reports from direct recipients receiving between $25,000 and $499,999 but will not routinely review or send these recipients approval letters. Sometimes Utilization Reports will be returned with notes as to how it should be amended before it can be accepted. If this is the case, changes must be made, and the Report must be re-submitted before it will be approved.

All subrecipients of awards greater than $25,000 must similarly comply with the EEOP requirements.  Maintenance of records and review of written reports are the responsibility of the direct recipient that sub awarded the funds.  (Also see FAQ #18)

No. Although recipients of all Justice Department funds must comply with applicable federal laws prohibiting discrimination in employment and in the delivery of services or benefits, recipients and sub-recipients of Justice Department funding in American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands or the Northern Mariana Islands are exempt from the requirement to develop an EEO Utilization Report because the appropriate labor market statistics are unavailable. Nonetheless, recipients should be mindful of the regulatory requirement to keep employment data related to hiring, promoting, transferring and disciplining workers (see 28 C.F.R. § 42.301-.308).

In some instances, the OCR may request employment data in lieu of the EEO Utilization Report (e.g., applicant flow data cross-classified by race, national origin, and sex for all entry-level positions).

Yes. Guam labor market statistics, collected by the Guam Bureau of Statistics and Plans, can be used by recipients and sub-recipients to develop an EEO Utilization Report. However, Guam recipients and sub-recipients cannot use the online system for developing a Utilization Report because the Guam Bureau of Statistics and Plans uses racial and national origin categories that are more extensive than the ones used in the Report.

Guam recipients and sub-recipients seeking assistance in developing an EEO Utilization Report should contact:

Ms. Lola E. Leon Guerrero, Planner
Bureau of Statistics and Plans
P.O. Box 2950
Hagatna, Guam 96932
[email protected]
671-472-4201/2/3

Once completed EEO Utilizations reports from Guam recipients should be emailed to: [email protected].

Yes. However, the relevant labor market files for preparing an EEO Utilization Report are not currently part of the OCR online system for creating a Utilization Reports. The U.S. Census Bureau has collected extensive data on Puerto Rico. So, in the past, recipients in Puerto Rico have used, and the OCR has accepted, alternative labor market data collected by the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or local jurisdictions. In preparing the Utilization Report, recipients in Puerto Rico should focus primarily on evaluating the employment opportunities of women reporting the number and percentage of women in the recipient's workforce in each of the eight major job categories and then comparing this percentage to the percentage of qualified women in each of the same job categories in the relevant labor market. If there is significant underutilization, the recipient should analyze the result and propose, if warranted, objectives to correct the problem and steps it plans to take to achieve the objectives. Recipients should also include an internal and external plan for disseminating the modified EEO Utilization Report.

Even if recipients in Puerto Rico are unable to prepare a Utilization Report because of the absence of relevant labor market statistics, they should be mindful of the regulatory requirement to keep employment data related to hiring, promoting, transferring and disciplining workers (see 28 C.F.R. § 42.301-.308).

Yes. The direct recipient (named grantee) of Justice Department funds must comply with all civil rights regulations, including the EEOP requirement, even if the funding is being passed through to other agencies. All agencies who receive sub-awards must also satisfy EEOP requirements.

Grant making agencies that make sub-awards subject to administrative provisions of the Safe Streets Act must ensure that sub-recipients comply with EEOP regulations. State-administering agencies and grant making agencies in local government should have established procedures for monitoring sub-recipients' compliance (e.g., requiring grant applicants to sign assurances that expressly state that the applicant will comply with the EEOP regulations or monitoring whether sub-recipients have developed an EEOP or claim an exemption. A sub-recipient's failure to comply with EEOP regulations may result in the OCR finding that the grant making agency does not comply with the same regulations.

If you have IT or system related problems, such as login issues, or problems navigating the system, click here. If you still require assistance, please contact the OJP IT Service Desk at [email protected] or  (202) 307-0627 and leave a detailed message.

If you have questions regarding the development of an  Equal Employment Opportunity Program, an EEO Plan, an EEO Utilization Report, or related reporting and monitoring requirements, please email [email protected] or call the Office for Civil Rights at (202) 598-6458 or (202) 598-0741 and leave a detailed message.

There are three EEOP Roles, each with unique duties.  Users can only possess one role. 

• Read- Only User – Views entity reports. No other actions can be taken.
• User – Read, write, edit, and prepare EEO Verification Forms and Utilization Reports. However, an EEOP User cannot sign and submit EEOP Verification Form or Utilization Reports.
• Implementation Authority – Signs and submits Verification Forms and Utilization Reports within the EEOP System. May also read, write, edit, and prepare EEO forms and reports.  Must have authority to implement entity’s EEOP Program. (See FAQ # 27 for more on Implementation Authority.)

This is a 9-digit number assigned to your organization.

The System for Award Management (SAM) is the Official U.S. Government system that consolidated the Central Contractor Registration (CCR), Federal Contract Registry (FedReg), Online Representations and Verification Application (ORCA), and Excluded Parties List System (EPLS). All entities conducting business with the federal government must register through SAM. There is no charge to register or maintain your entity registration record in SAM.

Organizational entities must register and maintain an active registration status in SAM.gov in order to access federal funding. The SAM.gov Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) is considered the primary alphanumeric identifier for organizational entities in JustGrants. A Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) is issued by the System for Award Management (SAM) to identify specific organizations that conduct business with the federal government.

The Grantee Name, UEI and Organizational Contact Information should match the recipient information written in your grant Assurance Package.  If you are a direct recipient your grantee name, UEI contact information should prepopulate when you log in.  If the information is inaccurate, it must be corrected through the SAM.  (See FAQ #22 regarding SAM) You will need to confirm or fill in your organization category and type to continue preparing an EEOP report.

In creating an organization profile, state and local governmental entities must self-identify as a law enforcement agency or a non-law enforcement agency.  Please note that the Organization Profile and Verification Form should be completed regarding the actual recipient of the award. However, if a local government, such as county, is the actual recipient of the award, yet the award is implemented in a law enforcement agency, then the county may report on behalf of both the county (non-law enforcement) and its law enforcement agency. In this case, the county will select law enforcement as organization type, and if it is required to develop an EEO Utilization Report, it will report it is a law enforcement agency once again in step 2 and will create a sworn-officers utilization chart. The sub-recipient law enforcement agency may still be required to meet EEOP requirements.

Only individuals who have been assigned as authorized users on the organization's online profile AND have implementation authority (please see FAQ #27 for what is implementation authority), i.e. a responsible official who has the authority to implement your Equal Employment Opportunity Program, may submit the EEO Verification Form and Utilization Report using the online system. Please note that the online system will not allow users without implementation authority to submit either the Verification Form of the Utilization Report.

For further instruction, please see the Job Aid.

Implementation Authority means the ability to execute the goals and objectives in your organization's EEO Plan. Please note that only a responsible official who has the authority to implement your organization's EEO Plan may submit a Verification Form and EEO Utilization Report on behalf of the organization. Assignment of the Implementation Authority role in the EEOP System gives users the ability to e-sign and certify Verification forms and Utilization Reports. It denotes that the signer is  claiming responsibility for the implementation of Equal Employment Opportunity Plan that has been created or the exemption that has been verified for the fiscal year.  The Entity Administrator must assign this role within the EEOP System.

Reporting should be for the federal fiscal year when the award was made. Direct Department of Justice awards will note the grant year in the award number (for example, if the grant award number is 15PBJA-GG-BX-21...., the fiscal year selected for reporting purposes are the middle digits of that number, 2021).  The OCR does not require submission of EEOP information prospectively.  Therefore, a grantee should be reporting for funds received, not funds for which they are applying.  Please note, some state administering agencies require proof of EEOP reporting compliance as part of their grant application process.  In this case prospective grantee should provide proof of compliance for their most recently received award or if they would be a first-time grantee, they should select the current calendar year and prepare a Verification Form noting their anticipated award level.

The Verification Form is the way for recipients to acknowledge what their reporting requirements are. It includes information on number of employees, single largest grant amount, and organizational type. The Verification Form allows recipients to claim an exemption from the EEOP requirements or to acknowledge their reporting requirements. This form also requires all direct and sub-recipients to identify any organization they provide at least one award of $500,000 or more.

A Verification Form must be submitted by all direct recipients of Justice Department funding who are subject to the civil rights requirements of the Safe Streets Act preferably using the online EEO Reporting System. In order to submit a Verification Form, login to the EEO Reporting System at https://ojp.gov/about/ocr/eeop.htm, create a profile for their organization, and complete the Verification Form. Please note that completion of a Verification Form does not necessarily mean you are compliant; you may also be required to develop an Equal Employment Opportunity Program (EEOP), including a comprehensive EEO Plan, and be required to submit an EEO Utilization Report.

All direct recipients of Department of Justice financial assistance are required to submit a Verification Form to the Office for Civil Rights. Please note that even recipients which are exempt from a comprehensive EEO Plan requirement, including non-profits, educational institutions, medical institutions, and Indian tribes, must complete and submit a Verification Form claiming exemption from EEOP requirements.

Subrecipient can fill out a Verification Form and determine their reporting requirements by using the tool for subawards here.

All direct recipients must submit a Verification Form each year. Please see FAQ #29 for details on Verification Forms.

For how often each recipient must submit a Utilization Report see FAQ #8.

The EEO Verification Form is due 120 days from the INITIAL award date. For proceeding years, the Verification Form is due on the same date as your initial submission of the form. For example, if your initial award date is March 1, 2023, then the Verification Form is due 120 days from March 1, 2023 (on June 28, 2023). The following year, your Verification Form will be due on June 28, 2023, and the same date for 2024, etc.

A recipient agency is required to submit an EEO Verification Form each year based on the single largest active award, and if required, an EEO Utilization Report every other year.

Please note that if you receive a subsequent award that changes your reporting status, for example your organization's single largest award changes from less than $25,000 (EEOP exempt) to $25,000 or more (non-exempt), then you must submit a new Verification Form and comply with the remaining reporting requirements.

An EEO Utilization Report is a workforce analysis made to ensure that recipients of Department of Justice funding are providing equal employment opportunities to women and minorities. The report also includes the recipient's policy statement, objectives, and steps to eliminate underutilizations, and dissemination plans. The Utilization Report is a sub-component of a recipient's more comprehensive EEO Plan.

The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has developed the EEO Utilization Report along with the online EEO Reporting System to help recipients comply with the EEOP civil rights regulations. Instead of requiring recipients to report all of the employment data that federal regulations require them to keep in their comprehensive EEO Plans (see 28 C.F.R. § 42.301-.308), the OCR uses the EEO Utilization Report to prompt recipients to collect and analyze key employment data, organized by race, national origin and sex. The OCR also uses the Utilization Report as an initial screening tool. If the OCR's review of a recipient's Utilization Report indicates that a more thorough examination of employment practices may be appropriate, it may request that the recipient provide additional employment data, including your comprehensive written EEO Plan.

Although use of the online EEO Reporting System for completing and submitting a Utilization Report is not required, it is highly recommended as it walks recipients through each piece of information requested and automatically creates a PDF version of the Utilization Report at the end.

See FAQ #10 for more information on which recipients must complete and submit an EEO Utilization Report. Please note that even recipients which are not required to submit an EEO Utilization Report are still required to claim this exemption using the online Verification Form.

A recipient may use its AAP as a resource in preparing the EEO Utilization Report. However, the Office for Civil Rights will not accept a previously prepared AAP as a substitute, unless it includes the recipient's most recent workforce data analysis and all of the information requested when using the online EEO Reporting System. The OCR strongly recommends preparing a separate EEO Utilization Report.

However, recipients can upload responsive sections of a current AAP or EEP plan as attachments to their EEO Utilization Report.

Please see FAQ #6 for details on EEO requirements.

Direct recipients subject to the authority of the civil rights requirements of the Safe Streets Act (please see FAQ #9 if you are unsure whether your award is subject to these civil rights provisions) must develop and submit an EEO Utilization Report if they meet ALL of the following criteria:

• The recipient is a state or local government agency or a business; AND
• The recipient has 50 or more employees; AND
• The recipient has received at least a single award of $25,000 or more.

All direct recipients which are required to create and implement a comprehensive Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Plan must develop and submit an EEO Utilization Report to the Office for Civil Rights. We strongly recommend using the online EEO Reporting System which can be found at https://ojp.gov/about/ocr/eeop.htm.

Subrecipients have the same compliance requirements as direct recipients. However, it is the obligation of the direct recipient to monitor compliance. (See FAQ #18). OCR encourages direct recipients to have their subrecipients use the EEO Utilization Report builder available at:  EEOP FAQs | Office of Justice Programs (ojp.gov)

Yes. All direct recipients that are required to develop an EEO Utilization Report must also submit the report to the Office for Civil Rights.

Please note that the OCR will review every Utilization Report from direct recipients receiving a single largest award of $500,000 or more and these will require an approval letter to be compliant. The OCR will spot check Utilization Reports from recipients receiving between $25,000 and $499,999 but will not routinely review or send these approval letters. Sometimes Utilization Reports will be returned with notes as to how it should be amended before it can be accepted. If this is the case, changes must be made, and the Report must be re-submitted before it can be approved.

All subrecipients of awards greater than $25,000 must similarly comply with the EEOP requirements.  Maintenance of records and review of written reports are the responsibility of the direct recipient that sub awarded the funds.  (Also see FAQ #18)

The Office for Civil Rights highly recommends that direct recipients use the online EEO Reporting System to create and submit EEO Utilization Reports. The online system provides a U.S. Census tool which facilitates creating of your utilization charts and provides a convenient way for direct recipients to submit reports and make future edits.

Similiarly, sub-recipients can create, but not submit, Verification Forms and Utilization Reports by using the separate EEO Report Builder tool. (See FAQ #62).

Direct recipients are strongly encouraged, but not required to use the online EEO Reporting System to submit EEO Utilization Reports. Organizations are free to create their own EEO Utilization Report, however, at the minimum, it must include all of the information requested when using our online system, including your nondiscrimination policy statement; your most recent workforce data analysis; a narrative interpreting your workforce data; specific objectives and steps to enhance EEO within your organization; and your strategy for internal and external dissemination of your plan.  Direct recipients that do not use the online system must email their Utilization Reports to [email protected].

If your organization is a direct recipient that is subject to the civil rights requirements of the Safe Streets Act and therefore is required to develop a Utilization Report, you must submit a Utilization Report every other year.

For how often each recipient must submit a Verification Form see FAQ #7.

All subrecipients of awards greater than $25,000 must similarly comply with the EEOP requirements.  Maintenance of records and review of written reports are the responsibility of the direct recipient that sub awarded the funds.  (Also see FAQ #18)

As part of the first step in completing an EEO Utilization Report, recipients must post a nondiscrimination policy statement that applies to its employment practices. The nondiscrimination policy statement is usually a relatively brief text, often officially adopted by a senior administrator or governing body, that sets forth the recipient organization's providing equal employment opportunities to both applicants and employees, regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, disability, (and sexual orientation and gender identity for VAWA recipients) and perhaps other state and local protected classes. Some recipients use the nondiscrimination policy statement in notifying employees, prospective employees, and members of the public that the recipient organization is complying with federal civil rights laws. The policy statement is an ideal location to include information on grievance procedures, such as how to make a complaint, who to contact, and appeal procedures.

For EEO Utilization Report reporting purposes, in calculating the total number of employees in its workforce, a recipient should include part-time and full-time workers but exclude seasonal employees, political appointees and elected officials.

When developing an EEO Utilization Report, a recipient should use the following seven race and national origin categories in describing its workforce:

1. Hispanic or Latino
2. Asian
3. Black or African American
4. White
5. Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
6. American Indian or Alaska Native
7. Two or More Races

In the EEO Utilization Report's Workforce Analysis Chart, recipients must enter separately in each of the eight major job categories the number of male employees and the number of female employees of a particular race or national origin in that job category. For example, a recipient might report that the Professionals job category has the following number of employees: 12 Hispanic or Latino males, 18 Black or African American males, 16 Black or African American females, 14 White females and 19 Asian females.

The U.S. Census Bureau uses the following eight major job categories in collecting employment statistics for state or local government agencies:

1. Officials/Administrators
2. Professionals
3. Technicians
4. Protective Services: Sworn
5. Protective Services: Non-sworn
6. Administrative Support
7. Skilled Craft
8. Service Maintenance

State and local government agencies should use these same categories in developing their EEO Utilization Report.

If a recipient must reclassify some jobs in its workforce to correspond with the revised job categories used since the 2010 Census, please click here. 

The EEOP regulations refer to businesses as "private entities."

The U.S. Census Bureau uses the following eight major job categories in collecting employment statistics for businesses:

1. Executive/Senior Level Officials and Managers
2. First/Mid-Level Officials and Managers
3. Professionals
4. Technicians
5. Sales Workers
6. Administrative Support Workers
7. Craft Workers
8. Operatives

Business should now use these same categories in developing their EEO Utilization Report.

If a recipient must reclassify some jobs in its workforce to correspond with the revised job categories used since the 2010 Census, please click here. 

Workforce data related to race, national origin and sex generally relies on voluntary employee reporting. If employers do not maintain data on the race or national origin of its employees, employers may conduct voluntary surveys of employees to gather the relevant information. If employees decline to identify themselves by race, national origin or sex, employers should not independently assign them to one of these categories.

As a preliminary step in preparing a workforce chart for the EEO Utilization Report, you must report the total number of employees and the number of employees of unknown race, national origin or sex. The Workforce Analysis Chart in the Utilization Report should include only those employees who have identified themselves by race, national origin and sex.

Please note that it is a recipient's duty to attempt to gather employee information on race, national origin and sex. Although some employees may not provide this information, it is expected that a majority of the workforce will.

If the total number of minorities (i.e., non-Whites) in a recipient's service population is less than 3 percent, the recipient is still required to provide information on men and women in its EEO Utilization Report. The recipient would still report on the number of men and women in its workforce, perform a utilization analysis based on sex, and develop objectives and steps to address any significant underutilization of women.

A sworn officer in a law enforcement agency is one who has taken a solemn oath to perform duties on behalf of the public in a manner that merits the public's trust. He or she holds a commissioned position and is trained and empowered to perform a full range of law enforcement duties, including, but not limited to, preventing, and suppressing crime; investigating; apprehending, and detaining individuals suspected or convicted of offenses that violate the public interest. Firemen and women who have taken an oath should be accounted for as sworn officers.

All recipients, including local governments and law enforcement agencies, should develop an EEO Utilization Report that analyzes the workforce according to the agency named as grantee on the official award document, such as the award assurance package.

For example, if the City Arborville received a grant from the Department of Justice which is subject to the EEOP civil rights requirements, however the entire award was sub-awarded to and implemented by the Arborville Police Department, the City of Arborville must still complete an EEO Utilization Report for the entire city as a non-law enforcement agency, but in Step 2 specify that it has sworn-officers, and account for its police department employees.

Please note if the Arborville Police Department had more than 50 employees and received an award of $25,000 or more from the City entity, the Police Department would still need to satisfy the civil rights requirements of the Safe Streets Act. Please see FAQ #18 for information on grant making agency's responsibility for assuring sub-recipients comply with the EEOP regulations.

Generally, the Office for Civil Rights will presume that the entity who received the grant should do the reporting, however, on a case-by-case basis, it may be more appropriate to submit a consolidated report. Factors to consider in making this determination could be: (1) which entity has hiring, terminating, and promoting authority; (2) which entity has financial authority; (3) which entity has human resources authority; (4) legal structure of grant-making entity and sub-recipient, and more. If you have questions specific to your organization and are unsure of whether the grant-making agency and its sub-recipient should create a single EEO Utilization Report, please call the Office for Civil Rights at (202) 598-6458 and leave a detailed message, or email [email protected].

The Narrative of Interpretation should be a clear analysis in narrative form that interprets and provides context for the underutilization charts.  This narrative should identify underutilized populations, focusing on underutilizations of women and minorities. For each significant underutilization, recipients should determine, review, and list the area of underutilization as well as provide a brief analysis of why each area exists, i.e. what you believe are the contributing factors. This could include explaining recent local labor market trends, analyzing your own labor and applicant pool, providing an analysis of why you believe the underutilization chart may not be a completely accurate measure for your own workforce or labor market, etc.

A recipient should also include an explanation of why it picked its relevant labor market during step 3 (after creating the workforce chart). For example, if a city government chooses to use the entire county to provide its Census data, it should explain why it chose to do so.

The online system displays information regarding underutilization, including a significant underutilizations chart automatically created after inputting your workforce data.

For each job category with less than 30 employees, the online system will perform a simple subtraction, showing the difference between the percentage of employees in the particular job category (cross-classified by race, national origin and sex) and the percentage of employees in the same job category in the relevant labor market.  While it is unlikely that any underutilizations will be statistically significant; this information should be reviewed to areas of potential concern.

For each job category with 30 or more employees, the online system will perform a statistical analysis and then display any job categories that have underutilization of two or more standard deviations. The calculations indicate that it is unlikely that the underutilization is based on chance. If the online system does not identify underutilization in the recipient's workforce of two standard deviations or more, the online system will display only the utilization analysis chart based on simple subtraction.

Courts have generally recognized that statistics showing underutilization of two standard deviations or more (comparing the percentage of employees of a protected class in a particular job category to the percentage of similarly qualified workers of the same protected class in the relevant labor market) may be evidence of employment discrimination. See generally Barbara T. Lindemann & Paul Grossman, 1 Employment Discrimination Law 124-26 (4th ed. 2007).

When the online system identifies and displays underutilizations of two standard deviations or more, the recipient should at minimum address these in its EEO Utilization Report, as well as others it may find are relevant and significant. The identified underutilizations should at least be part of the basis for developing objectives and next steps for having a more diverse workforce and eliminating underutilizations.

If the utilization analysis chart does not show two or more standard deviations, the recipient should still review the chart based on simple subtraction and identify the most significant underutilization in its workforce. This should inform drafting the recipient's narrative, objectives and steps.

Finally, if a recipient finds that it has no underutilizations it does NOT mean that it is exempt from interpreting its finding and completing the Narrative of Interpretation, Objectives and Steps sections of the Utilization Report. Instead, these recipients should address how they plan to maintain this status and promote equal employment opportunity in their workforces.

No. In analyzing the Underutilization Chart in the EEO Utilization Report, the OCR does not allow the use of percentage quotas to determine whether a recipient has significant underutilization based on race, national origin, or sex in any of the eight major job categories. The analysis is highly fact-specific. For example, having a 20 percent underutilization of Asian males in the Skilled Craft job category would be less significant for an employer who has a total of five employees in this job category than for an employer that has 500 employees in the same job category.

It is the responsibility of the recipient to determine what it considers significant underutilization and to analyze and interpret those determined significant. If a significant underutilizations chart is created while using the online EEO Reporting System, recipients must at least analyze and interpret these areas of underutilizations. You may also see FAQ #49 for more information on what is significant underutilization.

In the context of analyzing underutilizations, recipients should be aware that the OCR does not expect an exact parity between the workforce and the relevant community labor market. Your analysis should reflect on each significant underutilization, but steps and objectives do not need to be one for one with your underutilizations. For example, if you have underutilizations in a job category with only five employees compared to a category with 100 employees, you should devote more of an effort (perhaps two or more objectives with multiple steps) to reduce the more prominent underutilization occurring in the category with 100 employees.  Further, goals and objects should not be numerically tied to the percentage of underutilization.  For instance, if an underutilization analysis reveal women are underutilized by 20 percent in a particular job category, recipients should not identify hiring 20 percent more women in that category as its goal or objective to address the underutilization.

Recipients should provide outcome based/measurable OBJECTIVES that are specific to remedying their underutilizations or other identified issues and to enhancing EEO in their organizations, although numerical goals will not be accepted (see FAQ #53 for details on numerical goals). A good STEP is specific, measurable and should explain EACH of the things your agency will do, how your agency will do them, when your agency will do them and, ideally, who within your organization will do them, to achieve that objective. Essentially, the STEPS should explain what will be done, who will do so, where it will be done, and when it will be done.

Remember, even if the utilization analysis reveal that your agency does not have significant underutilization of women and minorities, you must still provide at least one Objective and Step to explaining how your agency plans to maintain this status and promote equal employment opportunity in the workforce.

OBJECTIVES should be aimed at enhancing EEO in the recipient's workforce and should focus on reviewing and modifying various employment policies and practices such as:

1. Recruitment and outreach;
2. Composition of applicant pool;
3. Protocols for selecting applicants and ensuring these are not creating barriers in hiring;
4. Shift assignments and work assignments:
5. Promotion practices;
6. Training and/or mentoring opportunities; or
7. Any other employment practices which cause or contribute to underutilization.

No. Recipients should avoid setting numerical goals (quotas) for hiring or promoting employees based on race or sex to remedy identified underutilizations (e.g., hiring seven American Indian women in the Technicians job category), which is generally impermissible. The OCR will return an EEO Utilization Report that contains quotas with a request for an explanation and a caution to avoid this ordinarily unacceptable remedy.  Rather than using numerical goals, recipients should set clear targets for having a diverse workforce and enhancing equal employment opportunity.

At the minimum, an internal dissemination requires recipients to disseminate their EEO Utilization Report to their employees. This means posting the EEO Utilization Report on any existent electronic internal web, providing a physical location where it can be reviewed by employees without internet, and notifying employees of its existence and availability.

In your dissemination plan, please be very specific about what it is you are providing. For example, do not write, "We will post our EEOP". Instead, explicitly write when, where and which parts of your overall EEO Plan you will post. Utilization Reports which are not specific will be returned with a note to make changes.

Please note that the EEO Utilization Report is a public record and should be always readily and easily available to both employees and the public and should be provided with minimal burden on the requestor.

At the minimum, an external dissemination requires recipients to disseminate their EEO Utilization Report to the public via posting it on their public website. Recipients must also be willing to provide the report to the public upon request and should identify how to request the report. We also encourage recipients to engage the public regarding their EEO Utilization Report during recruitment events.

In your dissemination plan, please be very specific about what it is you are providing. For example, do not write, "We will post our EEOP". Instead, explicitly write when, where and which parts of your overall EEO Plan you will post. Utilization Reports which are not specific will be returned with a note to make changes.

Recipients must submit their EEO Utilization Report within 120 days of the INITIAL grant award date.  When approved, the report is in effect for two years.

If a recipient receives continuous funding that meet Utilization Report threshold, the next submission is due two years later on the same month and day that is reflected on the letter from OCR notifying last Utilization Report approval letter.  For every other year proceeding, the Utilization Report is due on the date of your approval letter from the Office for Civil Rights OR if your organization did not receive an approval letter because it received a single largest grant of less than $500,000, on the same date as your initial submission of the organization's Utilization Report to OCR. For example, if your initial award date is March 1, 2018, then the Utilization Report is due 120 days from March 1, 2018 (on June 28, 2018). Two years later, your Utilization Report will be due either on June 28, 2020 or on the date of your approval letter from 2018.

A direct recipient agency is required to submit an EEO Verification Form each year based on the single largest active award, and if required, an EEO Utilization Report every other year.

Please note that if you receive a subsequent award that changes your reporting status, for example your organization's single largest award changes from less than $25,000 (EEOP exempt) to $25,000 or more (non-exempt), then you must submit a new Verification Form and comply with the remaining reporting requirements, which may include developing an EEO Plan and submitting a Utilization Report to OCR.

As a direct recipient, once your EEO Utilization Report is signed and certified as final it will be locked.  If upon OCR review it is determined that additional information or clarification is needed. OCR will unlock the report and so you can make the necessary edits.

As a subrecipient, information entered in the system will only be retained for 21 days before it is automatically deleted.

Although all recipients which are required develop, implement, and maintain a comprehensive EEO Plan must also submit an EEO Utilization Report to the Office for Civil Rights (see FAQ #10), only those which received at least a single award of $500,000 or more must receive an approval letter to be in compliance.

The OCR will spot check Utilization Reports from recipients receiving a largest single award between $25,000 and $499,999, but will not routinely review or send these approval letters to these recipients.

Recipients will be mailed an approval letter if their submitted EEO Utilization Report meets all the necessary criteria. Otherwise, Utilization Reports will be returned with notes as to how it should be amended before it can be accepted. If this is the case, changes must be made and the Report must be re-submitted before it can be approved and the approval letter mailed.

No. Although in the past direct recipients have been able to claim an exemption from the EEO Utilization Report submission requirement if they had not received a single award of $500,000 or more, the OCR is now requiring submission of a Utilization report from all covered recipients and sub-recipients receiving a single largest award of $25,000 or more.

Please note that only authorized users with implementation authority can e-sign, certify, and submit the Verification Form as well as the Utilization Report. Please see FAQ #27 for what is implementation authority.

Per regulation (see 28 C.F.R. § 42.301-.308) all sub-recipients of covered awards greater than $25,000 must comply with the EEOP requirements.  It is the responsibility of sub-recipients to maintain records according to regulation and to adhere to the submission requirements of their direct recipient. To remain compliant, direct recipients must ensure that their covered sub-recipients are compliant with EEOP requirements. (Also see FAQ #18)

Yes. You can cut and paste text into any of the online Report's text boxes, if the destination text box can accept the length of the text or number of characters being pasted. You should spell check text before pasting anything into a text box, as the online EEO Reporting System does not check for grammar or spelling mistakes.

If you have questions about using the online EEO Reporting System, please click here.

Yes. You can cut and paste text into any of the online Report's text boxes, if the destination text box can accept the length of the text or number of characters being pasted. You should spell check text before pasting anything into a text box, as the online EEO Reporting System does not check for grammar or spelling mistakes.

Yes. Direct recipients can attach documents to the EEO Utilization Report at each step while developing the report.  However, subrecipients cannot attach documents since no submissions are made through the subrecipient tool.

OCR does not accept or acknowledge Verification (formerly Certification) Forms unless they are submitted through the online EEOP system. Submission of direct recipients’ Utilization Reports via the online EEOP system is greatly preferred.  If due to extenuating circumstances submission through the system is not possible, direct recipients may email Utilization Reports to: [email protected]. 

Emailed or mailed submissions from sub-recipients will not be reviewed or acknowledged.

If you have questions regarding what constitutes an Equal Employment Opportunity Program, its components, or related reporting requirements, please call the Office for Civil Rights at (202) 598-6458 and leave a detailed message, or email [email protected].

If you have IT or system related problems, such as trouble setting up your password, login issues, or problems navigating the system, click here. If you still require assistance, please call the IT Help Desk at (IT phone number) and leave a detailed message, or email [email protected].