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On February 9, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California approved the parties' stipulation in Center for Investigative Reporting v. U.S. Dep't of Labor and lifted the temporary stay that had paused disclosure of federal contractors' EEO-1 reports. With the stay lifted, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) can begin releasing EEO-1 workforce demographic data in response to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests that are the subject of this case, consistent with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals' ruling.
Disclosure Timeline
Under the stipulated schedule, the DOL will move forward with a staged disclosure that will affect both bellwether and non-bellwether federal contractors:
- February 11, 2026: the DOL will release EEO-1 report data for bellwether objectors;
- February 11, 2026: the DOL is also expected to provide notice to non-bellwether contractors of the agency's intent to release their EEO-1 report data; and
- February 25, 2026: the DOL is set to release EEO-1 report data of non-bellwether contractors.
Notices
OFCCP began sending notices to non-bellwether contractors on February 11th. The notices provided a history of the litigation and stated, pursuant to the court's order, the EEO-1 reports for objecting contractors will be released February 25, 2026. The notice gave no instruction or indication of an opportunity to object or confirmation of the method of publication.
Remaining Case Issues
Although disclosure is moving forward, two issues are pending before the district court: whether EEO-1 reports for hundreds of entities considered not to be federal contractors during the relevant period were properly withheld, and attorneys' fees and costs. The district court also granted the parties' request to continue the case management conference until March 12, 2026, which may allow more time to resolve these remaining disputes.
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