EEO Mid-Term Review Begins June 1, 2023

The FCC’s mid-term review of the equal employment opportunity (EEO) practices of television and radio stations will begin on June 1, 2023. Television station employment units with 5 or more full-time employees and radio station employment units with 11 or more full-time employees are subject to reviews beginning four years after they file license renewal applications. Radio stations in Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and Washington DC are first to be reviewed; stations in other states will follow. The most recent license renewal filing dates for radio and television can be found here and here.

The FCC will review stations’ EEO public file reports from the past two years to ensure stations are complying with the EEO rules. If the FCC finds problems with an employment unit’s EEO program or reports, it can request additional information, tell stations to improve their recruitment practices, or take enforcement actions.

New Feature for Radio Stations to Designate Staff Size. Radio stations will now tell the FCC the size of their employment units when they upload their EEO public file reports. Radio station public inspection files now have a “Mid-Term Review” tab in the settings section, with a “Yes/No” question asking if employment units have 11 or more full-time employees. Television stations will not have the “Yes/No” option in their public inspection files because all television stations that file EEO public file reports are subject to mid-term reviews.

If you have questions about the EEO mid-term review process, or about EEO compliance in general, please contact an attorney in our Media Practice group.

Categories: Media