The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) put forth a rule that would make broadcasters publicly post the race and gender of their employees, drawing concerns that companies would be pressured into making hiring decisions based on identity.
The proposed rule will require broadcasters to track the racial and gender composition of their employees and make that data publicly available. The rule was adopted in a 3-2 vote earlier this month and was released on Thursday to be placed into the Federal Register for comment.
Brendan Carr, who was appointed to the commission by former President Donald Trump, said that the rule would enable activists to pressure broadcast companies to make hiring decisions based on demographics, not merit.
“The record makes clear that the FCC is choosing to publish these scorecard for one and only one reason: to ensure that individual businesses are targeted and pressured into making decisions based on race and gender,” he said in his dissent statement.
The FCC just ordered every broadcaster to start posting a race & gender scorecard that breaks down the demographics of their workforce.
Activists lobbied for this b/c they want to see businesses pressured into hiring people based on their race & gender.
Courts have already… pic.twitter.com/4Mvb2sLMKj
— Brendan Carr (@BrendanCarrFCC) February 22, 2024
Carr said that in adopting the rule, the FCC “caves to the demands of activist groups that have worked for years and across different industries to persuade the federal government to obtain — and most importantly publish — this type of data about individual businesses. This is no benign disclosure regime.”
The rule, which was backed by the Biden-appointed members of the commission, will force radio and television broadcasters to file a yearly Form 395-B disclosing the demographic composition of their workforce.
“We agree with broadcasters and other stakeholders that workforce diversity is critical to the ability of broadcast stations both to compete with one another and to effectively serve local communities across the country,” the commission statement in support of the rule said. “ Without objective and industry-wide data it is impossible to assess changes, trends, or progress in the industry.”
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The commission said that making the data public would ensure accuracy and that the move was “consistent with a broader shift towards greater openness regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion across both corporate America and government.”
Carr said that the FCC’s attempt to make broadcasters post the data violated the Constitution, pointing to previous court decisions the FCC lost trying to mandate the comparison of employee demographic data with the general population.
“At worst, the Order pretextually seeks to force broadcasters into making race- and gender-based hiring decisions, a constitutionally offensive rationale that cannot justify any rules. Or at best, Order pursues disclosure for disclosure’s sake, which violates the First Amendment,” Carr said.