Another chapter has been written in the saga between the Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR) and the Department of Labor (DOL) over the release of federal contractor EEO-1 reports in the possession of DOL’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP).
As you may recall, CIR submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to OFCCP for the disclosure of the Type 2/Consolidated EEO-1 Reports for federal contractors and first tier subcontractors covering the reporting years 2016-2020. The request was made to OFCCP because the EEOC, which administers the reports, is statutorily barred from releasing them. The OFCCP, which comprised the second half of the Joint Reporting Committee, is not so barred.
The OFCCP allowed federal contractors the opportunity to file objections to the release of their reports with the final deadline (extended multiple times) passing on October 19, 2022. Contractors that did not file an objection received emails putting them on notice that their data may be disclosed.
OFCCP withheld many of the requested reports from disclosure citing FOIA Exemption 4, which allows federal agencies to withhold “trade secrets” and “commercial or financial information obtained from a person” that is “privileged or confidential” (see 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(4)). CIR sued DOL in the District Court for the Northern District of California to compel their release. That court determined that the reports contain no “commercial” information and ordered DOL to disclose them. DOL appealed, and now the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has weighed in.
In an opinion filed July 30, 2025, the three-judge panel rejected DOL’s appeal and affirmed the lower court’s opinion. Barring further appeal, OFCCP will likely have to release requested EEO-1 reports where the contractors’ sole objection was based on Exemption 4. Note that the court’s opinion does not address other possible reasons to withhold disclosure, such as challenges to contractor status or jurisdiction. This is not the only FOIA request made to OFCCP over the years for the same or similar data, so the agency will likely need to (re)review other requests as well.
The court’s order will not reach current (2024 filing year) and future EEO-1 Reports due to the revocation of Executive Order 11246. OFCCP no longer receives copies of EEO-1 reports filed by federal contractors, effectively “capping” similar FOIA requests at the 2023 EEO-1 reporting cycle.