First 2024 Random EEO Audit for Broadcasters

On March 22, 2024, the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau issued a public notice commencing a random audit of radio and television station EEO compliance over the past two years.  Approximately 250 stations are included on the audit list.  Usually, the FCC sends the audit notice by mail to stations.  Other than that notice, the only way to find out which stations must respond is to review the notice.

The deadline to respond to the audit is May 6, 2024.  The scope of a station’s response depends on many factors.  For stations that are part of a station employment unit with five or more full-time employees (30 hours/week), documentation showing the SEUs outreach activities for each full-time vacancy filled in the prior two years, as well as for each outreach menu option completed in the prior two years, is required.  Stations are required to keep such documentation (though not in the public file) anyway in order to substantiate their outreach efforts.

Even stations that do not have five or more full-timers have to respond to a random audit by disclosing how many employees they have, the job titles and number of hours for each position, and EEO contact information, among other items.

Responding to an audit is accomplished via an upload to the station public file (every station in the SEU must upload the audit response to their online public file).  The public notice / audit letter must also be uploaded to the public file (if your station is on the list, the time to post the notice is now).  The online public file has an EEO section that includes a “EEO Audits” subfolder where audit materials are to be uploaded.

Stations that were recently subject to an EEO audit or whose license renewal was granted within the last two years may be exempt from responding to the audit, but have to email the FCC at EB-EEO@fcc.gov for additional guidance on whether a response is required.

The FCC randomly audits up to 5% of broadcast stations for EEO compliance every year.  Another set of stations will be audited later this year, probably in late summer.  So if your station is not on this audit list, it may be on the next one.  With the FCC’s overall renewed focus on EEO issues, stations should be extra vigilant to ensure complete and verifiable compliance with EEO matters.