As noted previously, the FCC reversed a decades old decision and reinstated EEO Form 395 B. The Form requires yearly reporting on a station’s employees, broken down by race and gender and employment position. The new rule would require stations to make their EEO employment profile public. The effective date of the new rule is delayed because the Office of Management and Budget must review the new form.
The Texas Association of Broadcasters and others challenged the FCC’s new rules and filed a lawsuit earlier this year in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. The litigants argued that the rules were unconstitutional. The reason why the FCC abandoned the form years ago was because the court found that collecting the data and penalizing stations was unconstitutional.
The First Circuit Court of Appeals has set an oral argument for February 3rd. The date is interesting because it will occur after Brendan Carr takes over as Chairman of the FCC. As a commissioner, Carr dissented to the FCC's decision reimposing form 395B. As a result, we may see a change in the FCC's position on this case. Stay tuned.
You can see our previous story regarding the delay in implementing Form 395B here.
You can see our story regarding the Texas Association of Broadcaster’s litigation here.