The Advisors' Blog

– Liz Dunshee

We’ve blogged a few times about disclosure of EEOC data, in response to growing calls for transparency on diversity & pay equity. As Lynn blogged last week on our “Proxy Season Blog” on TheCorporateCounsel.net, here’s one of the most recent examples of a shareholder calling for this information:

The NYC Comptroller and three NYC retirement systems announced that they sent a letter to the CEOs of 67 S&P 100 companies requesting they back up statements calling for racial justice by disclosing EEO-1 report data. In support of the request, the announcement says disclosure of EEO-1 data will allow investors to evaluate a company’s diversity workforce practices while also facilitating board oversight of human capital management practices. Here’s an excerpt about the Comptroller’s expectations for companies receiving the latest letter:

Companies receiving the letter were asked to provide a written commitment by August 30, 2020 to publicly disclose their EEO-1 Report effective upon its next submission to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in 2021 or risk potential submission of shareholder proposals or opposition to the election of director nominees standing for re-election at the next annual shareholder meeting.

Diversity has been an ongoing focus for the NYC Comptroller’s office, although boardroom diversity seemed to garner most of the attention. Earlier this year, we blogged about results from the NYC Comptroller’s Boardroom Accountability 3.0 project that involved a version of the NFL’s “Rooney Rule.” Although the NYC Comptroller’s office has submitted shareholder proposals calling for EEO-1 data disclosure previously, it wasn’t done with a “splash” like it did this time around – the Comptroller’s 2019 postseason report shows it only submitted two proposals that year calling for EEO-1 data disclosures.