Ninth Circuit Affirms Disclosure of EEO-1 Reports Under FOIA
Ninth Circuit Affirms Disclosure of EEO-1 Reports Under FOIA
The Ninth Circuit ruled that federal contractors' workforce demographic data is not protected commercial information under FOIA Exemption 4. Consequently, the Department of Labor must release these Equal Employment Opportunity reports. This decision establishes that aggregated racial and sex data alone does not constitute confidential commercial secrets, as it reveals neither service details nor profit margins. This finding significantly lowers barriers for public access to government contractor diversity metrics. By rejecting the argument that the data is indirectly related to commerce, the court emphasized that transparency outweighs claims of commercial sensitivity. The ruling empowers researchers and the public to scrutinize the demographic composition of businesses working with the government without legal obstruction. This case is relevant to open data because it clarifies the boundary between public interest and proprietary privacy. It sets a precedent that essential societal diversity statistics held by the state are not immune from disclosure. For open data advocates, this reinforces the principle that government-held information serving public accountability should remain accessible, limiting corporate ability to hide behind broad commercial exemptions.
Source: natlawreview.comPublished on 2025-08-04