Approximately 150 randomly selected radio and TV stations are about to learn that they are part of the Federal Communication Commission’s next EEO audit.
Each year, the Enforcement Bureau goes about auditing approximately 5 percent of all U.S. broadcast licensees. This is the second set of equal employment opportunity audits in 2022.
The listed stations have until Oct. 7 to upload their responses. Here’s a link to the list and announcement.
If yours is on the list, keep in mind that — unlike in years past — the bureau is no longer sending individual letters notifying licensees of the completion of their response. If questions arise during the audit, bureau staff will contact you directly.
The audit includes all stations in the same station employment unit that are commonly owned, in the same market with shared employees. If the unit has fewer than five full-time employees, licensees must list them, identified by their job title, list the number of hours each is regularly assigned to work per week, and list any pending or resolved complaints made filed during the unit’s current license term.
If a unit of stations employs five or more full-time employees, the licensee must provide significantly more information. That includes copies of recent EEO public file reports, including details on the full-time positions that have been filled and dated copies of communications announcing the positions; information on the number of interviews conducted; dated documentation showing recruitment initiatives; any pending or resolved complaints; and information about the individuals responsible for implementing the unit’s EEO policies, among other items.
The announcement letter includes guidance about extension requests and what to do if you submitted an audit in 2020 or 2021.
