Mastering EEO Categories

Most employers are familiar with the EEO-1. For anyone unfamiliar (or those who could use a refresher), the EEO-1 Component 1 report is a mandatory annual data collection that requires private sector employers with 100 or more employees, and federal contractors with 50 or more employees meeting certain criteria, to submit workforce demographic data to the EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission).

Organizations other than private employers may also be subject to the EEOC’s workforce data reporting requirements. The EEOC sets forth the additional workforce data reports below.

• The EEO-3 Data Collection (Local Union Report)
  • A biennial data collection conducted every other year in the even-numbered calendar years from Local Referral Unions.
• The EEO-4 Data Collection (State and Local Government Information Report)
  • A mandatory biennial data collection that requires all state and local governments with 100 or more employees to submit workforce demographic data to the EEOC.
• • A biennial data collection typically conducted every other year in the even-numbered calendar years from all public elementary and secondary school systems and districts with 100 or more employees in the United States.The EEO-5 Data Collection (Elementary – Secondary Staff Information Report)

This blog will cover information on job categories for the EEO-1 in depth, but similar principles can be applied to EEO categories for the other EEO reports.

EEO-1 Job Categories

For EEOC workforce data reporting, employers are required to group their jobs into various categories developed by the EEOC. For the EEO-1 report, the EEOC uses a list of 10 job categories. Various other official workforce data reporting, including state and local reporting, runs off these same 10 EEO-1 job categories.

• 1.1 – Executive/Senior Level Officials and Managers
• 1.2 – First/Mid-Level Officials and Managers
• 2 – Professionals
• 3 – Technicians
• 4 – Sale Workers
• 5 – Administrative Support Workers
• 6 – Craft Workers
• 7 – Operatives
• 8 – Laborers and Helpers
• 9 – Service Workers

Why does the EEO-1 use specific job categories?

Bucketing groups of like-jobs into distinct categories helps the EEOC uniformly evaluate workforce data across different employers and industries. Having defined categories allows for clearer analysis of differences between the job categories, and thus clearer identification of potential industries, job types, and/or geographic areas where women and minorities might be underrepresented in certain roles.

How is this related to AAP development?

If you are a federal contractor or sub-contractor, this may sound similar to AAP job groups and analysis. Per the regulations, allocating data into job groups is a requirement for displaying and analyzing data. Having well defined job groups is the backbone of your AAP, so it is critical to understand how to set them up and to review them regularly.

What are Job Groups in the AAP?

For AAP development, contactors with less than 150 employees may use the EEO-1 categories as their job groups. Per OFCCP regulations, employers with 150 employees or more employees are required to further sub-divide the EEO-1 categories into smaller job groups. As with the EEO-1, job groups should be created by combining employees in similar roles that are similarly situated within the company, so that if there are issues of underrepresentation or adverse impact of women and minorities in the workplace, it can be clearly identified.

EEO-1 Job Categories versus AAP Job Groups

When bucketing employees into job groups for the AAP, they should always first be placed in the appropriate EEO-1 job category. Once that has been identified, they can be broken out into smaller, more specific groupings. Job groups are defined in the regulations as a group of jobs and/or job titles that have similar content, wage rates, and opportunities. When creating your AAP job groups, you can consider different approaches to determine what works best for your organization. Job groups can be content-driven, where jobs are grouped together based on similar content (i.e., jobs with similar responsibilities, tasks or role requirements), or they can be opportunity-driven (i.e., jobs are grouped together by level, wage rate or opportunity.) Job groups can also be some combination of content-driven and opportunity-driven, depending on the size of your workforce and how your jobs are structured. More in-depth information on AAP job group development can be found in Berkshire’s Fundamentals of Affirmative Action Planning training.

EEO-1 Job Categories in Detail

Below are details and example roles for each of the EEO-1 job categories. Berkshire’s quick reference guide to the EEO-1 job categories can be found here. (Quick reference guides for the EEO-4 and EEO-6 job categories are available here and here.)

• Executive/Senior Level Officials and Managers

These are the highest-level job titles in an organization. Executive/Senior Level Officials and Managers create and manage overall company policies, define company strategies, and provide overall direction for an organization, with the support of subordinate executives and managers, and within the parameters approved by boards of directors or other governing bodies.

The Executive/Senior Level Officials and Managers category can also include, in larger organizations, those that are within two reporting levels of the CEO, and whose responsibilities involve frequent interaction with the CEO.)

Examples: chief executive officers, chief financial officers, chief information officers, chief human resources officers, chief legal officers, line of business heads, presidents, executive vice presidents, management directors, and managing partners.

• First/Mid-Level Officials and Managers

These are managers other than those at the executive level, who often report to executive-level officials. Jobs in the First/Mid-Level Officials and Managers category may be responsible for implementing the plans and strategies set executive-level officials. They may also oversee and direct the delivery of products, services, or functions at group, regional, or divisional levels of organizations.

Jobs in this category are often people managers, but not always – and they do not always report to executive-level management. This category can also include jobs that report directly to middle-management but are responsible for overseeing day-to-day operational objectives for a branch or area of a company.

Examples: vice presidents, directors, group, regional or divisional controllers, treasurers, human resources, information systems, marketing, operational managers, first line managers, branch managers, and storage and distribution managers.

• Professionals

These jobs require a bachelor’s or graduate degree, professional certification, or comparable experience. Jobs in the Professionals category do not typically manage others, although their roles may be Team Leads.

Examples: accountants and auditors, airplane pilots and flight engineers, computer programmers, chemists, lawyers, librarians, physician scientists, physicians, teachers, and engineers.

• Technicians

Jobs in this category require applied scientific skills, which are usually obtained through post-secondary education of varying lengths, depending on the particular occupation. These jobs often involve repetitive technical/manual work requiring re-certification.

Examples: drafters, emergency medical technicians, chemical technicians, HVAC maintenance technicians, lab technicians, and pharmacy technicians.

• Sale Workers

These jobs are non-managerial jobs that primarily involve direct sales. For sales jobs with multiple responsibilities, they must spend more of the time selling than completing the other tasks (for example, a sales manager role must spend more time actively selling than managing a sales team.)

Examples: retail workers, loan officers, insurance agents, wholesale sales representatives, counter and rental clerks, and cashiers.

• Administrative Support Workers

These are jobs involving non-managerial tasks that provide administrative and support assistance, typically in an office setting. Jobs in this category may have a two- or four-year college degree, high school diploma, or equivalent.

Examples: administrative assistants, receptionists, paralegals, accounts payable/receivable support staff, shipping, receiving, and traffic clerks, proofreaders, and data entry keyers.

• Craft Workers

Most jobs in this category include higher skilled occupations in construction, natural resource extraction, or equipment installation, maintenance and repair. Some production occupations will be included in this category, distinguished by the high degree of skill and precision required to perform the job, based on clearly defined task specifications.

Jobs in this category often involve specific vocational or apprenticeship training in a skilled trade or professional craft, often requiring unique tools, creativity, and attention to detail.

Examples: carpenters, stone masons, plumbers, electricians, painters, roofers, welders, auto mechanics, boilermakers, pipe layers, elevator installers, tailors, millwrights, etchers and engravers, and pattern makers.

• Operatives

Most jobs in this category include intermediate--skilled occupations and include workers who operate machines or perform other factory-type duties, including but not limited to operating and controlling equipment to facilitate the movement of people or materials.

Jobs in this category require less training than a Craft Worker, but are still semi-skilled, usually requiring not more than a few months of training to become proficient. They are often trained in-house by the employer.

Examples: forklift drivers, bus drivers, truck drivers, flight attendants, printing press operators, sailors, parking lot attendants, and hand packers and packagers.

• Laborers and Helpers

Jobs in this category typically include workers with more limited skills who require only brief training to perform tasks that require little or no independent judgment. They typically follow instructions and perform manual labor.

Examples: production and construction worker helpers, vehicle and equipment cleaners, laborers, freight movers, groundskeepers, refuse and recyclable materials collectors, and sewer pipe cleaners.

• Service Workers

This category includes workers in both protective and nonprotective service occupations, that provide a personal service to the public. Skills for these jobs may be acquired through formal training, job training, job-related training, or direct experience. They may also have state licensing.

Examples: bartenders, waiters, chefs, janitors, lifeguards, police, firefighters, home health aides, private detectives and investigators, and medical assistants or other healthcare support positions.