What Are the EEOC Race Categories on the EEO-1?

The EEOC currently requires employers to sort their workforce into seven race and ethnicity categories on the EEO-1 report: Hispanic or Latino, White, Black or African American, Asian, American Indian or Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, and Two or More Races. These categories follow standards set by the federal Office of Management and Budget, and every employee on the payroll must be counted in exactly one column. A 2024 OMB revision will eventually add a Middle Eastern or North African category and collapse ethnicity and race into a single question, but the EEOC has until September 28, 2029 to bring its form into line.1United States Census Bureau. OMB Announcing Timeline Extensions for SPD 15 Implementation

The Two-Step Classification

The current EEO-1 asks two separate questions, in order. The first is about ethnicity: is the person Hispanic or Latino, or not? Someone of Hispanic or Latino origin has roots in Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture, regardless of race. Employees who identify as Hispanic or Latino go in that single column on the form and are not further broken out by race.

The second question applies only to employees who said they are not Hispanic or Latino. Those employees are placed into one of six racial categories.

The Six Racial Categories

The definitions the EEOC uses for the racial groups are the OMB definitions carried over into the EEO-1 instructions.

  • White. A person with origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa.
  • Black or African American. A person with origins in any of the Black racial groups of Africa.
  • Asian. A person with origins in the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent.
  • American Indian or Alaska Native. A person with origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America who maintains tribal affiliation or community attachment.
  • Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander. A person with origins in the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands.
  • Two or More Races. A person who identifies with more than one of the five single-race categories above.

Combined with Hispanic or Latino, that produces the seven columns on the report. No employee can appear in more than one column, and no employee can be left out.

How Employees Get Assigned to a Category

Voluntary self-identification is the EEOC’s preferred method. Employers must give every employee the chance to identify their own race and ethnicity for EEO-1 purposes, and must make clear that answering is optional. The suggested language tells employees that refusing will not lead to adverse treatment and that responses stay confidential, used only for federal reporting.

If an employee declines to self-identify, the employer still has to report a category for that person. The first place to look is existing employment records. Visual observation is a last resort, allowed only when the employee has refused and no records are available.

Employees who identify with more than one racial group have to be given the option to select Two or More Races. They cannot be forced into a single category to make the paperwork tidier.

Who Has to Use These Categories

The EEO-1 Component 1 report is mandatory under Section 709(c) of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which authorizes the EEOC to require covered employers to keep records and file reports.2U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 Two groups of employers file:

  • Private-sector employers with 100 or more employees.3eCFR. 29 CFR 1602.7
  • Federal contractors and first-tier subcontractors with 50 or more employees that meet certain contract-value thresholds.4U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. EEO Data Collections

The data reported must reflect a single payroll period the employer picks from between October 1 and December 31 of the reporting year. That workforce snapshot is what gets sorted into the seven categories.

What Is Changing Under the 2024 OMB Revisions

On March 28, 2024, OMB finalized major changes to Statistical Policy Directive No. 15, which governs how federal agencies collect race and ethnicity data. Two changes matter most for the EEO-1.

One Combined Question Instead of Two

The two-step process is being replaced by a single question: “What is your race and/or ethnicity? Select all that apply.” Hispanic or Latino becomes one of seven co-equal categories rather than a preliminary ethnicity question asked before race.5Federal Register. Revisions to OMBs Statistical Policy Directive No. 15 – Standards for Maintaining, Collecting, and Presenting Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity Under the new format, a single selection counts as a complete response. Someone who selects only Hispanic or Latino will not be prompted to also pick a race, which resolves a source of confusion and incomplete responses in the current two-question setup.6United States Census Bureau. 2. Question Format

A New Middle Eastern or North African Category

Under the current EEO-1, people with Lebanese, Iranian, Egyptian, Syrian, Iraqi, Israeli, and similar backgrounds are classified as White. Under the revised OMB standards they will have their own category. The seven minimum categories under the new directive are:5Federal Register. Revisions to OMBs Statistical Policy Directive No. 15 – Standards for Maintaining, Collecting, and Presenting Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity

  • American Indian or Alaska Native
  • Asian
  • Black or African American
  • Hispanic or Latino
  • Middle Eastern or North African
  • Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander
  • White

When It Takes Effect for the EEO-1

The revised OMB standards became effective on March 28, 2024, but federal agencies have a transition period. The EEOC’s deadline to submit its implementation action plan to OMB was extended to March 28, 2026, and the deadline for the EEO-1 form itself to comply with the new standards was extended to September 28, 2029.1United States Census Bureau. OMB Announcing Timeline Extensions for SPD 15 Implementation Until the EEOC updates the form, employers should continue using the seven-category, two-question format described above.

The practical effect for employers preparing internal systems is real. HR data structures will need to accommodate a combined question, the new Middle Eastern or North African category, and the loss of Hispanic or Latino as a separate ethnicity layered on top of race. Companies that start adjusting their data collection ahead of time will have less to rebuild when the EEOC finalizes its new form.