EEO Compliance/Diversity

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With the federal government shutdown finally ending yesterday, broadcasters need to be prepared to take steps to comply with FCC rules whose enforcement has been put on hold since October 1, when the government shut down most FCC electronic filing systems, including the online public files.  Now that the FCC has reopened, the FCC has recognized that its initial guidance (about which we wrote here), issued in the face of what might have been expected to be a short suspension of activities, was not realistic given the length of the shutdown and the potential issues that could arise with many broadcasters and other regulated entities all trying to upload their documents to various FCC systems by the end  of the next business day after government operations resumed (see our list of concerns here). 

Thus, yesterday, when the FCC reopened, it released a Public Notice postponing the deadline for filings due during the shutdown until at least Tuesday, November 18, with a promise of another public notice before that date to evaluate whether that date was in fact realistic or if a further extension for some or all filings would be warranted.  In fact, that Public Notice suggests that parties not rush to upload everything immediately, but only to submit time-sensitive documents to the FCC.  Given that, as of 9 AM Eastern on Friday morning (on November 14), some FCC databases including the online public file still are offline, it appears realistic to assume that some further extensions will be required.  [Update, 11/14/ 2025, 4:00 PM ET, the FCC has now posted notices on the help pages for both the Online Public Inspection File and for LMS where applications are filed, saying that neither system will be available for use until November 18, seemingly insuring a further extension of the dates by which filings will be due] Consult your own legal and technical advisors as to how these deadlines affect your operations and as to what filings should be prioritized once the FCC’s systems are back up and operating. Continue Reading Federal Government Reopens with FCC Decision to Provide More Time to Submit Delayed Filings – and Watch for Comment Deadlines in Major Proceedings on Media Ownership and the ATSC 3.0 Transition

In November, the biggest regulatory news may be the continuing federal government shutdown is continuing.  If the shutdown persists, comment deadlines discussed below may shift until after the government resumes normal operations.  As we discussed here, the FCC provided guidelines before the shutdown began on how regulatory deadlines would be impacted during the government shutdown, with most deadlines postponed until the day after the day that the FCC reopens.  Yet, as we noted here, many questions remain as to whether the FCC’s systems will be prepared for the backlog of filings suddenly due on one day, and as to how the reopening will affect actions like the LPTV/TV translator major change filing opportunity that was to have already been opened.  Be on the lookout for updates on what will occur should the federal government reopen this month.

One deadline unaffected by the shutdown is the requirement triggered by the end of Daylight Savings Time on November 2.  The change in the clocks means that AM daytime only stations, AM stations with different daytime and nighttime patterns, and AM stations operating with pre-sunrise and/or post-sunset authority should check their sign-on and sign-off times on their current FCC authorizations to ensure continued compliance with the FCC’s technical rules.  AM stations need to note that all times listed in FCC licenses are stated in standard time, not daylight savings time even if it is in effect.Continue Reading November 2025 Regulatory Dates for Broadcasters – Federal Government Shutdown, Daylight Savings Time, Comment Deadlines, FCC Open Meeting, and more

We would normally provide you with some of the regulatory developments of significance to broadcasters from the past week, with links to where you can go to find more information as to how these actions may affect your operations.  But, as the government shutdown has drastically limited activity at the FCC, and as Congress did…

  • The FCC released a Public Notice announcing that, effective 12:01 AM on October 1, the agency will “suspend most operations”
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October is, on paper, a busy month of regulatory deadlines for broadcasters.  As set forth below, the month includes the requirement for almost all broadcasters to complete and upload to their public file their Quarterly Issues/Programs Lists, as well as the date for broadcasters to submit to the FCC their ETRS Form One reporting basic information about their EAS equipment.  There are also routine EEO annual deadlines for stations in several states, and the response deadline for the 300 stations subject to the FCC’s first EEO audit under the new administration – which included new questions about stations’ DEI practices.  A “major change” filing window for LPTV stations and TV translators is also scheduled to open this month.  But these and other deadlines could be affected by the looming federal government shutdown beginning October 1 if Congress fails to fund the government for the coming year (or pass a “continuing resolution” to allow government agencies to function at their current levels).  If a shutdown does occur, the FCC, the FTC, the Copyright Office and other federal agencies may have to pause their operations, which may result in some of the regulatory deadlines discussed below for the FCC being delayed.  Note that, in some cases, agencies have some funds set aside that allow them to keep functioning for a few extra days, which has been the case for the FCC during several of the last government shutdowns, but that is not assured.  Because of the potential of this extended operation even if there is a shutdown, do not assume that regulatory deadlines set forth below will be postponed by a funding impasse. 

In the past, when there has been a pause in government operations and after any residual funds to keep the agency operating have been expended, agencies like the FCC ceased the processing of routine applications and paused all other routine work, staying open only to the extent necessary to deal with emergencies and other vital activity.  In at least one shutdown, the FCC even limited access to its website and online systems. In the past, FCC filings have been suspended, with additional time being provided after the government reopens to make filings that were due during the shutdown.  But details are different in each shutdown.  If Congress cannot resolve the funding issues by October 1, we would expect that the FCC and other agencies important to broadcasters to issue public notices about specific policies to be applied after funding runs out.  Stay tuned to see if any of the dates below have to be rescheduled.

October 1 is the deadline for radio and TV station employment units in Alaska, American Samoa, Florida, Guam, Hawaii, Iowa, Missouri, Northern Mariana Islands, Oregon, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Washington with five or more full-time employees to upload their Annual EEO Public File Report to their stations’ Online Public Inspection Files.  A station employment unit is a station or cluster of commonly controlled stations serving the same general geographic area having at least one common employee.  For employment units with five or more full-time employees, the annual report covers hiring and employment outreach activities for the prior year.  A link to the uploaded report must also be included on the home page of each station’s website, if the station has a website.  Be timely getting these reports into your station’s OPIF, as even a single late report can lead to FCC fines (see our article here about a recent $26,000 fine for a single late EEO report).Continue Reading October 2025 Regulatory Updates for Broadcasters – Possible Government Shutdown, Quarterly Issues/Programs Lists, EEO Public File Reports, EEO Audit Responses, ETRS Filing Deadline, LPTV/TV Translator Filing Windows, and More

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The Federal Trade Commission last week announced that it was dropping its appeal of a court decision which put on hold an FTC order adopted during the Biden administration which banned noncompete agreements in all industries across the country (see our note here). This ban was a concern to many in the broadcast industry as it would allow station employees, including on-air talent, managerial employees, and others with access to sensitive competitive information to freely move from station to station within a broadcast market.

But the FTC’s decision to drop the appeal of the court’s rejection of the nationwide ban does not mean that the FTC has abandoned all concerns about the use of noncompete agreements.  Instead, the FTC issued a Request for Information seeking public comment on the use of noncompete agreements, seeking information on a variety of issues including why an employer may use noncompete agreements, typical salary ranges of employees subject to these agreements, their terms or limitations, and harms imposed on employees by these agreements.  Comments are due November 3.  The FTC also announced plans to pursue concerns about such agreements on a case-by-case basis.Continue Reading FTC Drops Appeal of Court’s Rejection of Nationwide Ban on Noncompete Agreements – To Pursue Individual Cases Where Noncompetes are an Unfair Trade Practice

It is time for our look at September’s regulatory dates and deadlines to which broadcasters should be paying attention – and the deadline that probably is most important to all commercial broadcasters is not yet known.  That, of course, is the deadline for the payment of annual regulatory fees – which must be made before the federal government’s October 1 start of the new fiscal year.  We expect an announcement of the final decision on the amount of those fees for various broadcasters, and the deadlines for payment, in the next few days.  Keep on the alert for that announcement. 

Below is our summary of the other dates affecting broadcasters this September, including the effective date of the Emergency Alert System’s (“EAS”) new Missing and Endangered Persons event code, comment and other pleading deadlines in several FCC proceedings, the deadline for affected broadcasters to file their responses to the FCC’s August 2025 EEO Audit Letter, in addition to several political file window dates.

September 8 is the effective date of the new EAS Missing and Endangered Persons event code to be used by all EAS Participants, including broadcast stations.  In August 2024, the FCC adopted a Report and Order creating a new EAS event code for persons over the age of 17 who are missing or abducted from states, territories, or tribal communities (known as Ashanti Alerts), but delayed its effective date to provide EAS Participants with enough time to update their EAS systems to use the code.Continue Reading September 2025 Regulatory Dates for Broadcasters – FCC Regulatory Fees, Political Windows, EAS Event Code, Rulemaking Comment Deadlines, and more

  • The Radio Music License Committee announced settlements with both ASCAP and BMI of rate court litigation over the royalties to
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