Amendments to the Employment Equity Regulations, SOR/96-470 (the “Regulations”) introduced new “pay transparency” reporting obligations, amongst other things, under the Employment Equity Act (the “Act”). These amendments came into force on January 1, 2021 and create new obligations for affected employers that must be included in respect of their 2021 reports, which are due by June 1, 2022.

Background: The Employment Equity Act

The Act was first enacted in 1986, though it has undergone various changes since. The purpose of the current Act is “to achieve equality in the workplace so that no person shall be denied employment opportunities or benefits for reasons unrelated to ability” and “to correct the conditions of disadvantage in employment experienced by four identified groups, being women, Aboriginal peoples, persons with disabilities and members of visible minorities.” The Act applies to federally-regulated private sector employers with at least 100 employees and provincially regulated employers participating in the Federal Contractors’ Program.

Employers have the following key obligations under the Act:

1. Collect information and conduct an analysis of the employer’s workforce in order to determine the degree of the underrepresentation of persons in designated groups in each occupational group in that workforce;
2. Conduct a review of the employer’s employment systems, policies and practices in order to identify employment barriers against persons in designated groups that...

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