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Bureau of Labor Statistics > Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities > About > Notices

CFOI and SOII Race and Ethnicity: Planned updates for Collection and Publication

Background

On March 28, 2024, the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) published its updated Statistical Policy Directive 15 (SPD 15) for maintaining, collecting, and presenting federal data on race and ethnicity. These standards were last updated in 1997, and this effort aims to improve the accuracy of federal race and ethnicity statistics for the U.S. population. Updates to SPD 15 include:

Replacing the current two-question format asking first for Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, followed by a separate race question with a single race and ethnicity question that encourages respondents to select as many options as apply to how they identify.
Adding a new category for Middle Eastern or North African (MENA), removing this from White to be its own category. This will create seven minimum race and ethnicity categories.

Next Steps

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) plans to update race and ethnicity data for the Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (OMB Number 1220-0045) and for the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (OMB Number 1220-0133) to align with OMB’s updated SPD 15. The following describes planned updates to SOII and CFOI race and ethnicity data.

Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses

The SOII case and demographic data series published biennially (every other year) includes race and ethnicity data. The BLS will begin to collect updated race and ethnicity data in the SOII starting with reference year (RY) 2027 data collection, with publication of biennial case and demographic estimates thereafter. (See Table 1 for high-level timeline.) Changes to this data series must be implemented during the first year of a biennial cycle to ensure consistent data from which to publish biennial estimates for case characteristics and worker demographics. Data collected from the RY 2027 SOII will be combined with data from the RY 2028 SOII to produce biennial estimates of nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses, including worker demographics reflecting the new race and ethnicity standards. These RY 2027-28 biennial SOII case and demographic estimates using updated race and ethnicity will be published for the first time in November 2029. In the meantime, the BLS will continue to publish biennial estimates using existing race and ethnicity categories.

Table 1. BLS timeline for implementing SPD 15 updates in the Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII)

Date	Activity
October 2026—December 2027	Develop requirements and implement SPD-15 updates to SOII survey instruments, processes, and IT systems
January—July 2028	Collect reference year (RY) 2027 data reflecting updated race/ethnicity
January—July 2029	Collect RY 2028 data reflecting updated race/ethnicity
November 2029	Publish RY 2028-29 biennial case and demographic SOII estimates for first time using updated race/ethnicity

Race and ethnicity detail in the SOII

The SOII collects race and ethnicity data as an optional response through proxy reporting by the employer. For this reason, the BLS will continue to collect and publish minimum race and ethnicity categories for the SOII.

Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries

The CFOI has collected and published a comprehensive count of work-related fatal injuries and descriptive data on their circumstances (including race and ethnicity) since 1992 and is widely regarded as the leading source of data on fatal injuries in the workplace. The BLS plans to implement SPD 15 updates in CFOI collection, tabulation, and publications starting with reference year (RY) 2027 collection. (See Table 2 for high-level timeline.) CFOI data are often used in conjunction with SOII data to present a comprehensive understanding of circumstances leading to both fatal and nonfatal injuries, including among demographic data including race and ethnicity. To align as closely as possible and best preserve comparability of fatal and nonfatal workplace safety and health statistics on race and ethnicity, the BLS will implement race and ethnicity updates to CFOI starting with RY 2027 data that will be published for the first time in December 2028. In the meantime, the BLS will continue to publish CFOI data using existing race and ethnicity categories.

Race and ethnicity detail in the CFOI

Fatal work injury data collected for the CFOI are compiled from multiple data sources, including death certificates, medical examiner reports, obituaries, news articles, and more. Demographic characteristics of decedents collected from various data sources are often observational or captured by proxy. Therefore, the BLS will continue to collect and publish minimum race and ethnicity categories for the CFOI.

Table 2. BLS timeline for implementing SPD 15 updates in the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI)

Date	Activity
January 2026—October 2027	Develop requirements and implement SPD-15 updates to CFOI processes and IT systems
November 2027—October 2028	Collect and process reference year (RY) 2027 fatal work injury data reflecting updated race/ethnicity
December 2028	Publish RY 2027 fatal work injury data for first time using updated race/ethnicity

Additional Information

BLS Race and Ethnicity Data: Upcoming Changes to Collection and Publication

Federal Register Notice: Revisions to OMB’s Statistical Policy Directive No. 15: Standards for Maintaining, Collecting, and Presenting Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity

Home Page for U.S. Office of Management and Budget’s Statistical Policy Directive No. 15

The BLS is working on detailed action plans to bring the SOII and CFOI data collections and publications into compliance with the updated SPD 15. The BLS will make these action plans available online when they are submitted to OMB.

Please send any comments or questions regarding updates to race and ethnicity in the SOII or the CFOI to BLS_SPD15@bls.gov.

Last modified date: March 28, 2025