In March, we blogged about Ontario’s Bill 203 the Pay Transparency Act, 2018. On April 26, 2018, the Bill passed on third reading. The Pay Transparency Act, 2018 (the Act) will come into force on January 1, 2019.

The purpose of the Act is to promote gender equality and equal compensation between men and women through increased transparency around compensation.

Amendments from First Draft

The Bill was amended from its first draft to now require pay transparency reports from a greater number of employers. The Act originally would have required these reports from employers with 500 or more employees and it is now a requirement for employers with 100 or more employees.

There are graduated deadlines with respect to when organizations of different sizes must submit their first report to the Ministry: May 15, 2020, for employers with 250 or more employees and May 15, 2021, for employers with 100 – 250 employees. These reports, once submitted, must be posted online or in a conspicuous place in the workplace. The Ministry will also make pay transparency reports available to the public. Previous drafts of the Bill allowed for the possibility that some classes of employer may be exempt from the reporting requirements. This possibility of exemption was removed.

Requirements

Come January 1, 2019, the Act will:

• Require publicly advertised job postings to include a salary range;
• Prohibit employers from asking candidates about their past compensation;
• Prohibit reprisals against employees who discuss or disclose compensation; and
• Establish a reporting framework that will require employers with 100 or more employees to track, report and post compensation gaps based on gender and other diversity characteristics.

Employers will need to change job postings to include salary range and may need to amend compensation policies or contracts that speak to employees keeping their rates of pay confidential. Large employers will also need to start gearing up to meet the reporting requirements, coming into force May 2020 and 2021.  

If you have any questions about the new Act, equal pay or pay transparency, please get in touch. We would be happy to hear from you.