Taxpaying entities classified in the following industries that are out-of-scope to the Census Bureau’s economic programs are not included in Economic Census sampling unless they are part of a multi-establishment enterprise engaged in other activities that are in-scope to the Census Bureau's economic programs:
Locations with the above industrial classifications, or that are not physically located in the U.S., but pay U.S. wages to employees, will be included on the Report of Organization's Item 5A question, and will ask employment and payroll data.
Yes, your response is required by law. Title 13 United States Code, Sections 131 and 182, authorizes this collection. Sections 224 and 225 require your response. The U.S. Census Bureau is required by Section 9 of the same law to keep your information confidential and can use your responses only to produce statistics. The Census Bureau is not permitted to publicly release your responses in a way that could identify your business, organization, or institution. Per the Federal Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2015, your data are protected from cybersecurity risks through screening of the systems that transmit your data.
Title 13 (Section 224) and the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 (18, U.S.C. 3559 and 3571) allow for possible prosecution of responsible officials and penalties up to $5,000 (and a response is still required).