Even though there has been a request to put on hold the FCC’s EEO enforcement (about which we wrote here), filed by a prominent Washington DC organization that promotes the participation of minorities and new entrants in broadcast employment and ownership positions, the FCC today announced that it is launching another round of EEO audits – this time only auditing radio stations. The FCC has said that it will audit about 5% of all broadcast stations annually to make sure that they are widely disseminating information about job openings, recruiting from all community organizations in their service areas, and educating their communities about job openings through so-called "supplemental efforts." To ensure compliance with these obligations, the Commission has launched this round of EEO audits, with responses due from audited stations on or before September 27.
The list of audited stations is available here. The FCC’s letter setting out the information sought from the audited stations is here. The Commission also released a Public Notice reminding all broadcasters with 5 or more full-time employees that, if they have a website, that they are required to post their annual EEO report on that site. For more information about the FCC’s EEO requirements, see our comprehensive memo on the FCC’s EEO requirements, available here.