Annual EEO Public File Report Due in Public File by April 1

posted on 3.18.2024

Most Texas radio and television stations face an April 1 deadline to upload their annual FCC EEO Public File Report and to post the report on the station website.

The report summarizes the station’s EEO activities in the previous 12 months, in this case, from April 1, 2023, through March 31, 2024.

Communications attorneys at TAB’s FCC counsel, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, recently wrote about the required report in the firm’s CommLawCenter blog.

The report filing requirement applies to all radio and television station SEUs (station employment units), including Class A television stations, with five or more full-time employees.

The FCC refers to such stations as “nonexempt SEUs,” meaning the station must file the report.

It may surprise some, but LPTV stations with five or more full-time employees must also comply with the report rule even though such stations are not required to maintain an Online Public Inspection File.

“These stations must maintain a ‘station records’ file containing the station’s authorization and other official documents and must make it available to an FCC inspector upon request,” said Pillsbury. 

“Therefore, if an LPTV station has five or more full-time employees, or is otherwise part of a Nonexempt SEU, it must prepare an Annual EEO Public File Report and place it in its station records file.”

The report is part of the FCC’s EEO rule that requires non-exempt SEUs to broadly disseminate information concerning full-time job openings, including sending notifications to requesting referral organizations. It also requires such stations to participate in non-vacancy outreach such as job fairs, internship programs, and other efforts.

Want to know more about complying with the FCC’s EEO Rule?

Pillsbury attorneys have written an extensive and detailed advisory, The FCC’s Equal Employment Opportunity Rules and Policies – A Guide for Broadcasters. 

The advisory provides practical information to stations to assist in the preparation of a station EEO compliance plan.

Questions? Contact TAB’s Michael Schneider or call (512) 322-9944.

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