Bill to require company demographic reporting advances after privacy debate

The New York State Assembly passed A.8555 on the floor after extended debate over privacy and statutory form language. Assemblymember Pollan, the sponsor, said the bill requires certain corporations and limited liability companies to report employee demographic data (gender, race and ethnicity) to the Department of State using the same data categories as the federal EEO‑1 form.

Pollan described prior vetoes of related legislation and said the current bill was amended to require the exact federal form so as not to create mismatches with federal reporting. "We changed the bill to require the same exact information from the form to go to the department," Pollan said, adding that the state posting is intended to encourage employers to improve diversity practices.

Opponents, including Assemblymember Walsh during questioning and members speaking in debate, argued the bill risks duplicative reporting and could raise employee privacy concerns. A representative summarized an opposition memo from the business council and NFIB that argued federal law (via EEOC) prohibits public release of detailed employer EEO‑1 data and that the plan could create privacy and constitutional issues.

Pollan responded that the form does not include salary or other sensitive commercial information and that the bill's threshold (100 employees) focuses reporting on larger firms. When asked about the constitutional concern that the bill "incorporates by reference" federal regulations, Pollan noted that New York routinely references federal rules in state law and cited the pending Chevron case as context.

Members also discussed administrative burden on the Department of State to post data and whether making company‑level demographic information public would meaningfully advance equity goals. The Assembly voted 103–41 to pass the bill.

Next steps: The measure will go to the usual executive and implementation processes; Department of State will have posting responsibilities under the bill's terms.