The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (CHRT) has published and is seeking comments on its Draft Rules Respecting Pay Equity and accompanying draft forms. Comments are due by May 10, 2022. Background On August 31, 2021, the federal government proclaimed in force the Pay Equity Act (Act) and related regulations. The Act applies to federally regulated…
Practice Area: Pay Equity
Beyond COVID-19: 2021 Year in Review – Cases and Legislation of Note
Employers and human resource professionals will undoubtedly remember 2021 as another year shaped by the pandemic. But … there were also legal developments in 2021 that were not related to COVID-19. In this FTR Now, we look at some of the year’s notable “non-pandemic” cases and legislative developments of interest.
Year-End Roundup
We are back with another edition of Reaching Out. With 2021 drawing to a close, we thought it appropriate to update you on some non-COVID-19-related developments.
Appellate Court Confirms that Employers are not Obligated to Negotiate with Unions in Maintaining Pay Equity
On September 21, 2021, the Ontario Divisional Court issued Ontario Nurses’ Association v. 10 Community Care Access Centres, an important decision on pay equity maintenance. The Court confirmed that a union, in the context of seeking a joint process with an employer to maintain pay equity, does not have a right to negotiate the maintenance…
Federal Ministry of Labour Launches Task Force to Review Employment Equity Act
On July 14, 2021, the federal Minister of Labour announced that it has launched a Task Force with the purpose of “making concrete, independent and evidence-based recommendations to the Minister of Labour on how to modernize” the Employment Equity Act (Act). The Task Force is looking into issues surrounding employment equity and inclusion in federally…
Important Updates Regarding the Federal Pay Equity Act, the Canada Labour Code and CLC Regulations
In this Federal Post, we cover recent developments with respect to the federal Pay Equity Act, amendments to the Canada Labour Code (CLC) and highlight the proposed amendments to the CLC Regulations that are currently open for public consultation. Federal Pay Equity Act In Force on August 31, 2021 By: Lucy Wu The federal Pay…
Reaching Out – Fifteenth Edition
Dear Friends, We are back with another edition of Reaching Out. With 2020 behind us and some light at the end of the COVID-19 pandemic tunnel, we thought it appropriate to reconnect with our Social Services clients with a Spring edition of Reaching Out. We chose not to publish Reaching Out last year as we…
Ontario Court of Appeal on Maintenance Obligations for Employers Utilizing the Proxy Method
In a pair of related decisions, the Ontario Court of Appeal ruled in favour of the bargaining agents for the Participating Nursing Homes (PNH) in their dispute regarding maintenance obligations under the Pay Equity Act (Act) when using the proxy method of comparison. In one of the decisions, the majority of a five-member panel of…
The Divisional Court Affirms Employers May Face Substantial Penalties for Failing to Respond to Sex Discrimination and Gender Pay Inequity
In its recent decision Ontario v Association of Ontario Midwives, the Ontario Divisional Court upheld two decisions of the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario pertaining to sex discrimination and pay equity, reaffirming that employers have an obligation to take proactive steps to ensure that sex-segregated workers are compensated free from sex discrimination and that a…
CHRT Seeks Feedback on Rules of Procedure to be Developed Under New Pay Equity Act
The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (CHRT) is seeking feedback on specific questions related to the development of the Rules of Procedure under the federal Pay Equity Act (Act), which is expected to come into force sometime in 2020.