The FCC announced a waiver for radio stations that were facing compliance with new DEI rules that were put in place by the exiting Biden administration. Radio stations were facing an October 2025 deadline to file extended ownership reports with questionable legal requirements which had already been struck down by a federal court of appeals.
The DEI (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion) reporting provisions were formally added with the FCC’s reinstatement of Form 395‑B in September 2024, as part of a Report & Order expanding workforce diversity data reporting requirements. These rules required broadcasters with five or more full-time employees to collect and submit demographic employee data (race, gender, job categories) annually.
However, in May 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit struck down the reinstated Form 395‑B requirement. The court ruled that the FCC lacked statutory authority under the Communications Act to require collection of such demographic data, deeming the effort outside the scope of its regulatory mandate.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) had updated its reporting requirements for certain broadcast stations, reaffirming and revising compliance obligations under Section 73.2080 of the FCC’s rules. This section, based on the nondiscrimination requirements of the Communications Act and codified from broader civil rights principles, mandates that broadcasters maintain equal employment opportunity (EEO) practices and file periodic reports demonstrating compliance.
Historically, full-power radio and television stations in markets with five or more full-time employees have been required to file EEO public file reports annually and submit FCC Form 396 or 397 during license renewal or mid-term review. However, low-power FM (LPFM) and certain non-commercial educational (NCE) stations—especially those operated entirely by volunteers or with limited staffing—have generally been exempt from some of the more burdensome elements of EEO recordkeeping and reporting.
Under the revised requirements, adopted in late 2024 and which would take effect for filings due in 2025, the obligation to file EEO Form 395-B extended to more categories of stations than before. Specifically, the FCC rule adopted during democrat leadership mandated that all broadcast stations with five or more full-time employees—including formerly exempt LPFM and certain Class A television licensees—must annually report demographic workforce data to the Commission. That change closed a longstanding loophole that had excluded these stations from contributing to the Commission’s broader efforts to monitor industry-wide diversity trends, the cost of compliance which could prove expensive for such stations.
Under the updated rule that was put in place during the Biden Administration, broadcasters are required to collect data on race, ethnicity, and gender of employees, categorized by job classification, and report it confidentially to the Commission. While individual station reports will not be publicly attributed, the FCC will use the aggregated data to assess industry trends and identify potential areas of concern or progress in broadcast employment diversity. This requirement amounts to a DEI initiative in direct opposition to the direction of the current Trump administation's goal to end such practices throughout all federal angencies.
The rule change did not impact stations with fewer than five full-time employees, which remain exempt from the filing requirement. Nor does it alter the longstanding prohibition on employment discrimination, which applies to all broadcasters regardless of size or market.
For broadcasters, especially smaller operators who may have previously avoided the administrative burden of filing Form 395-B, the rule change represented a significant compliance adjustment. Stations must ensure they are prepared to gather and report workforce composition data accurately and in a timely manner. Though the demographic data itself remains confidential, the act of non-compliance can result in penalties or complications during license renewals.
The latest move by the FCC to delay the filings could give the administration and commission time to potentially drop the DEI changes to the rule or make other changes, including rescinding it completely before the reporting requirement waiver period of 18 months end in June of 2027. For now, the waiver only applies to radio stations, television stations so far must contine to meet their reporting obligations.
