The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has reinstated a new requirement (discussed here) for broadcast stations to annually report workforce composition data, including employee gender, race, and ethnicity. This may require some commercial broadcasters to change their internal processes more than many non-commercial broadcasters. Commercial Education (NCE) Broadcasting Station. NCE stations, which receive funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), are already required to submit annual employment statistics reports to the CPB that report on the gender, race, and ethnicity of their employees. . That information is compiled into a report by CPB and available on CPB's website.
However, there are some important differences between CPB and FCC data collection. First, and perhaps most importantly, workforce composition data reported by CPB-funded NCE stations are not widely available on a station-by-station basis. Broadcasters must make employment statistics reports available to the public at their “headquarters and other locations with six or more employees,” but the public can access the information via the CPB website where the data is reported. likely to be accessed. Aggregate base. In contrast, Form 395-B reports staffing data for a single station or group of jointly owned stations and is available through a station's online public inspection file. Second, the filing deadline and snapshot period differ between her two reporting requirements. Form 395-B must be filed by September 30 of each year after the effective date and reports the station's employment profile for the July, August, or September pay period. In contrast, CPB's employment statistics report is scheduled to be released in February and will report on the bureau's employment status for the following January pay period. Third, on Form 395-B, broadcasters have the option to select “non-binary” as the gender of their employees, but that category does not currently exist in the CPB. Finally, the occupations by which employees must be classified for reporting purposes differ slightly between the CPB and the FCC. For example, Form 395-B distinguishes between senior and mid-level employees, but the CPB does not.
The Form 395-B filing requirements have not yet taken effect and are pending until the FCC's underlying order is published in the Federal Register and the amended form is approved by the Office of Management and Budget. This requirement could also be challenged in court, which could further delay its effectiveness. Once these hurdles are crossed, the Media Bureau will issue a public notice informing you of the filing period during which you must submit the form.
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