‘Gather what your compensation practices and policies are, document how you do things and why we do it that way’
Federally regulated employers have until Oct. 20, 2026 to prepare for new "Equal Treatment" wage rules that will prohibit paying employees performing substantially similar work at different rates based solely on their employment status.
And one employment lawyer says the change could prompt a wave of employee-initiated wage reviews.
The rules, which amend the Canada Labour Code, require that employees paid on the same basis — for example, hourly or by commission — receive the same wage rate as colleagues doing the same or substantially similar work.
"Outside of those sort of lawful and justified exceptions, generally speaking, employees who are paid on the same basis and do the same work should be paid the same," Michelle McKinnon, an employment lawyer who has advised employers on similar provincial exercises, tells HRD.
On May 6, 2026, the federal government published the Regulations Amending Certain Regulations Made Under the Canada Labour Code (Equal Treatment and Temporary help Agencies): SOR/2026‑75 (Regulations) in the Canada Gazette, Part II.
McKinnon said the new rules sit alongside pay transparency legislation, such as the regime introduced in British Columbia, as complementary tools meant to close persistent wage gaps. "I think these two work in tandem to ensure and give effect to pay equality at the end of the day, to...
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