On May 16, 2022, Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) published an invitation to provide feedback with respect to the development of regulations under the federal Pay Equity Act, which came into force on August 31, 2021.
This Act establishes a proactive pay equity regime that applies to employers with 10 or more employees in the federal public and private sectors, including the offices of the Prime Minister and Ministers.
The proposed regulations are intended to achieve four objectives:
- operationalize the administrative monetary penalties (AMPs) system established under the Act
- set out how to maintain pay equity in workplaces with no predominantly male job classes
- enable the collection of wage gap data
- make minor technical revisions to the existing regulations
Input is being accepted from May 17, 2022 until June 17, 2022. ESDC is seeking this input from federally regulated employers and employer associations, federally regulated workers and their representatives, as well as pay equity advocates and professionals.
Those providing feedback may wish to consult ESDC's Discussion Paper regarding the pay equity regulations that are to be put in place. Specifically, this paper elaborates on the proposed policy framework with respect to each of the above-listed objectives.
Feedback and questions can be sent to ESDC.PayEquity-EquiteSalariale.EDSC@labour-travail.gc.ca.
An online questionnaire regarding elements of the AMP system being developed, which can be found at this link, also solicits feedback with respect to several issues, including the following:
- quantum of applicable penalties
- classification of violations
- reduction of penalties where paid promptly
- publication of information regarding violations
Further information regarding the federal Pay Equity Act can be found in our two earlier posts:
- Federal Government Proposes Significant Workplace Law Reforms
- Important Updates Regarding the Federal Pay Equity Act, the Canada Labour Code and CLC Regulations
Originally published 19 May 2022
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