The FCC’s Fourth Report and Order, Order on Reconsideration and Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, made public on Thursday, reinstates the collection of workforce composition data for radio and television broadcasters on FCC Form 395-B. The move follows the recent addition of Anna Gomez as the third Democratic Commission and a 3-2 party vote. The Commission had suspended its requirement that licensees file the form, which collects race, ethnicity and gender information about a broadcaster’s employees within specified job categories, more than two decades ago.

After a long period of inactivity, the Commission issued a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in July, 2021 seeking to refresh the public record regarding the manner in which the Form 395-B data should be collected and maintained. The Commission has now reaffirmed its authority to collect this information and conclude that broadcasters should resume filing Form 395-B on an annual basis.

“Given the importance of this workforce information and Congress’s expectation that such information would be collected and available, we reinstate this collection in a manner available to the public consistent with the Commission’s previous, long-standing method of collecting this data,” wrote the FCC in its order.

“Our ability to collect and access Form 395-B data is critical because it will allow for analysis and understanding of the broadcast industry workforce, as well as the preparation of reports to Congress about the same. Collection, analysis, and availability of this information will support greater understanding of this important industry. 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.”

“With today’s action, we restore the process of giving broadcasters, Congress, and ourselves the data needed to better understand the workforce composition in the broadcast sector. We find further that continuing to collect this information in a transparent manner is consistent with a broader shift towards greater openness regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion across both corporate America and government.”

Democratic Commissioner Geoffrey Starks said the FCC’s actions amount to a reinstatement of “a longstanding, statutorily-mandated requirement to collect workforce diversity data from broadcasters.”