Due to the ongoing partial government shutdown, the online Public Inspection File database is not currently accessible. As a result, the filing date for stations required to file their Annual EEO Public File Report has been extended until after the Commission reopens. However, the Commission still requires stations to “maintain” these documents until they can be uploaded. As we discussed in a recent CommlawCenter article, stations should therefore proceed as usual in the timely creation of these materials and upload them once the Public Inspection File database becomes available.
Stations that are required to upload an EEO Mid-Term Report can still do so if they choose. This is because the FCC has left the LMS filing system operating for incentive auction-related filings (which are excluded from the shutdown). However, the Commission has made clear that, other than auction filings and those necessary for the protection of life and property, filings at the FCC during shutdown “will not be reviewed or processed and will be considered accepted on the day following the day of return to normal operations.”
Read more in Common Law Center.
