Broadcast Station EEO Advisory

Introduction

April 1, 2012 is the deadline for broadcast stations licensed to communities in Delaware, Indiana, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Texas to place their Annual EEO Public File Report in their public inspection files and post the report on stations’ websites.

Under the FCC’s EEO Rule, all radio and television station employment units (“SEUs”), regardless of staff size, must afford equal opportunity to all qualified persons and practice nondiscrimination in employment.

In addition, those SEUs with five or more full-time employees (“Nonexempt SEUs”) must also comply with the FCC’s three-prong outreach requirements. Specifically, all Nonexempt SEUs must (i) broadly and inclusively disseminate information about every full-time job opening except in exigent circumstances, (ii) send notifications of full-time job vacancies to referral organizations that have requested such notification, and (iii) earn a certain minimum number of EEO credits, based on participation in various non-vacancy-specific outreach initiatives (“Menu Options”) suggested by the FCC, during each of the two-year segments (four segments total) that comprise a station’s eight-year license term. These Menu Option initiatives include, for example, sponsoring job fairs, attending job fairs, and having an internship program.

Nonexempt SEUs must prepare and place their Annual EEO Public File Report in the public inspection files and on the websites of all stations comprising the SEU (if they have a website) by the anniversary date of the filing deadline for that station’s FCC license renewal application. The Annual EEO Public File Report summarizes the SEU’s EEO activities during the previous 12 months, and the licensee must maintain adequate records to document those activities. Stations must also submit the two most recent Annual EEO Public File Reports at the midpoint of their license terms and with their license renewal applications.

Exempt SEUs – those with fewer than 5 full time employees – do not have to prepare or file Annual or Mid-Term EEO Reports.

For a detailed description of the EEO rule and practical assistance in preparing a compliance plan, broadcasters should consult “Making It Work: A Broadcaster’s Guide to the FCC’s Equal Employment Opportunity Rules and Policies” published by the Communications Practice Group. This publication is available for download at this link.

Deadline for the Annual EEO Public File Report for Nonexempt Radio and Television SEUs

Consistent with the above, April 1, 2012 is the date on which Nonexempt SEUs of radio and television stations licensed to communities in the States/Territories identified above, including Class A television stations, must (i) place their Annual EEO Public File Report in the public inspection files of all stations comprising the SEU and (ii) post the Report on the websites, if any, of those stations. Be aware that LPTV stations are also subject to the broadcast EEO rules even though LPTV stations are not required to maintain a public inspection file. Therefore, if an LPTV station has five or more full-time employees, or is part of a Nonexempt SEU, it must prepare and maintain an internal copy of its Annual EEO Public File Report.

It is contemplated that these Reports will cover the period from April 1, 2011 through March 31, 2012. However, Nonexempt SEUs may “cut off” the reporting period up to ten (10) days before April 1 so long as they begin the next annual reporting period on the day after the cut-off day used in the immediately prior Report. For example, if the Nonexempt SEU uses the period April 1, 2011 through March 22, 2012 for this year’s report (cutting off up to 10 days prior to April 1, 2012), then next year, the Nonexempt SEU must use a period beginning March 23, 2012 for its next report.