Pay Transparency Act, 2018

Interpretation, Application, Etc.

1 In this Act, “applicant” means an individual who applies for employment with an employer, other than an individual who is an employee of the employer at the time of applying; (“candidat”) “Board” means the Ontario Labour Relations Board; (“Commission”) “compensation” means all payments and benefits paid or provided to or for the benefit of a person who performs functions that entitle the person to be paid a fixed or ascertainable amount; (“rémunération”) “employee” has the same meaning as in the Employment Standards Act, 2000; (“employé”) “employer” has the same meaning as in the Employment Standards Act, 2000; (“employeur”) “Minister” means the member of the Executive Council to whom responsibility for the administration of this Act is assigned or transferred under the Executive Council Act; (“ministre”) “Ministry” means the ministry of the Minister; (“ministère”) “prescribed” means p…

2 (1) The Minister is responsible for the administration of this Act. Policies (2) The Minister may establish policies respecting the interpretation, administration and enforcement of this Act. Delegation of powers (3) Where, under this Act or the regulations, any power or duty is granted to or vested in the Minister or the Deputy Minister of the Ministry, the Minister or Deputy Minister may, in writing, delegate that power or duty from time to time to any employee in the Ministry, subject to such limitations, restrictions, conditions and requirements as the Minister or Deputy Minister may set out in the delegation.

3 This Act binds the Crown.

4 The purposes of this Act are, (a) to promote gender equality and equal opportunity in employment and in the workplace, including equality of compensation between women and men, through increased transparency of pay and workforce composition; (b) to increase disclosure of inequities related to employment and compensation that women and other Ontarians may experience in the workplace to encourage the removal of such inequities to promote the full and equal participation of women and other groups in the workplace; (c) to promote, amongst employers, the elimination of gender and other biases in hiring, promotion, employment status and pay practices; (d) to support open dialogue and workplace consultation between employers and employees on issues concerning employment, compensation and equal opportunity; and (e) to support economic growth through the advancement of equity in employment and …

Compensation History

5 (1) No employer shall seek compensation history information about an applicant by any means, whether personally or through an agent. Unprompted disclosure (2) Nothing in this section prohibits an applicant from voluntarily and without prompting disclosing compensation history information to an employer or an employer’s agent. Comparable compensation (3) Nothing in this section prohibits an employer from seeking information about the ranges of compensation or aggregate compensation provided for positions comparable to the position for which the applicant is applying. Use of information (4) Where an applicant has made a disclosure of compensation history information described in subsection (2) or the employer has obtained information described in subsection (3), nothing in this section prohibits the employer from considering or relying on such information in determining compensation for …

Compensation Range Information

6 Every employer who advertises a publicly advertised job posting shall include in the posting information about the expected compensation for the position or the range of expected compensation for the position.

Pay Transparency Reports

7 (1) Every employer with 100 or more employees and every prescribed employer shall collect the prescribed information for the purposes of preparing, no later than May 15 each year, a pay transparency report that complies with the requirements in the regulations and that contains the prescribed information relating to the employer, the employer’s workforce composition and differences in compensation in the employer’s workforce with respect to gender and other prescribed characteristics. First report, employer with 250 or more employees (2) An employer with 250 or more employees shall submit the first pay transparency report no later than May 15, 2020. First report, employer with 100 or more employees (3) An employer with 100 or more employees but fewer than 250 employees shall submit the first pay transparency report no later than May 15, 2021. Submission of report (4) An employer who is…

Anti-reprisal

8 (1) No employer or person acting on behalf of an employer shall intimidate, dismiss or otherwise penalize an employee or threaten to do so because the employee has, (a) made inquiries to the employer about the employee’s compensation; (b) disclosed the employee’s compensation to another employee; (c) made inquiries about a pay transparency report made under section 7, or about information contained in such a report; (d) given information about the employer’s compliance or non-compliance with the requirements of this Act or the regulations to the Ministry; or (e) asked the employer to comply with this Act or the regulations. Arbitration (2) Where an employee complains that an employer or person acting on behalf of an employer has contravened subsection (1), the employee may either, (a) have the matter dealt with by final and binding settlement by arbitration under a collective agreement…

Section Amendments with date in force (d/m/y) 2018, c. 5, s. 21 - no effect - see 2023, c. 12, Sched. 1, s. 78 (2) - 08/06/2023 2023, c. 12, Sched. 1, s. 78 (1) - not in force Compliance

9 (1) Such persons as are considered necessary to enforce this Act and the regulations may be appointed under Part III of the Public Service of Ontario Act, 2006 as compliance officers. Certificate of appointment (2) The Deputy Minister of the Ministry shall issue a certificate of appointment bearing the Deputy Minister’s signature or a facsimile of it to every compliance officer.

10 (1) A compliance officer may exercise the powers conferred upon compliance officers under this Act and shall perform the duties imposed upon compliance officers under this Act. Officers to follow policies (2) A compliance officer shall follow any policies established by the Minister under subsection 2 (2). Hearing not required (3) A compliance officer is not required to hold a hearing in exercising any power or making any decision under this Act.

11 (1) A compliance officer is not a competent or compellable witness in a civil proceeding respecting any information given or obtained, statements made or received, or records or other things produced or received under this Act except for the purpose of carrying out the officer’s duties under this Act. Same (2) A compliance officer shall not be compelled in a civil proceeding to produce any record or other thing the officer has made or received under this Act except for the purpose of carrying out the officer’s duties under this Act.

12 (1) A compliance officer may, without a warrant, conduct a compliance audit of an employer and, for that purpose, may enter and inspect any place in order to investigate a possible contravention of this Act or to perform an inspection to ensure that this Act is being complied with. Requirements re conduct of audit (2) A compliance audit and any related inspection and investigation shall be conducted in accordance with any requirements set out in the regulations. Powers of officer (3) A compliance officer conducting an investigation or inspection as part of a compliance audit may, (a) examine a record or other thing that the officer thinks may be relevant to the investigation or inspection; (b) require the production of a record or other thing that the officer thinks may be relevant to the investigation or inspection; (c) remove for review and copying a record or other thing that the o…

13 (1) If a compliance officer believes that a person has contravened a provision of this Act or the regulations, the officer may issue a notice to the person setting out the officer’s belief and specifying the amount of the penalty for the contravention. Amount of penalty (2) The amount of the penalty shall be determined in accordance with the regulations. Penalty within range (3) If a range has been prescribed as the penalty for a contravention, the compliance officer shall determine the amount of the penalty in accordance with the prescribed criteria, if any. Information (4) The notice shall contain or be accompanied by information setting out the nature of the contravention. Service (5) A notice issued under this section shall be served on the person in accordance with the regulations. Deemed contravention (6) The person shall be deemed to have contravened the provision set out in th…

14 (1) A person against whom a notice of contravention has been issued under section 13 may dispute the notice if the person makes a written application to the Board for a review, (a) within 30 days after the date of service of the notice; or (b) if the Board considers it appropriate in the circumstances to extend the time for applying, within the period specified by the Board. Hearing (2) The Board shall hold a hearing for the purposes of the review. Parties (3) The parties to the review are the person against whom the notice was issued and the Ministry. Parties given full opportunity (4) The Board shall give the parties full opportunity to present their evidence and make their submissions. Practice and procedure for review (5) The Board shall determine its own practice and procedure with respect to a review under this section. Rules (6) The chair of the Board may make rules with respec…

15 (1) This section applies if the Board has commenced a hearing to review a notice of contravention, six months or more have passed since the last day of the hearing and a decision has not been made. Termination of proceeding (2) On the application of a party in the proceeding, the chair may terminate the proceeding. Re-institution of proceeding (3) If a proceeding is terminated according to subsection (2), the chair shall re-institute the proceeding upon such terms and conditions as the chair considers appropriate.

16 (1) If a notice of contravention has been issued under this Act, a copy of the notice, certified by a compliance officer to be a true copy, may be filed in a court of competent jurisdiction. Advising of filing (2) A compliance officer who files a copy of the notice of contravention shall serve a letter in accordance with the regulations upon the person against whom the notice was issued advising the person of the filing. Notice enforceable (3) A notice of contravention filed under subsection (1) may be enforced in the same manner as a judgment or order of the court.

Miscellaneous

17 No notice of contravention shall be issued under this Act more than one year after the occurrence of the last act or default upon which the contravention is based.

18 (1) Except with the consent of the Board, none of the following persons may be compelled to give evidence in a civil proceeding or in a proceeding before the Board or another board or tribunal with respect to information obtained while exercising their powers or performing their duties under this Act: 1. A Board member. 2. The registrar of the Board. 3. An employee of the Board. Non-disclosure (2) A labour relations officer under the Labour Relations Act, 1995 who receives information or material under this Act shall not disclose it to any person or body other than the Board unless the Board authorizes the disclosure.

19 Where service of a document on a person is required or permitted under this Act, it is sufficiently served if it is served in accordance with the regulations.

Regulations

20 The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations for carrying out the purposes of this Act and, without restricting the generality of the foregoing, may make regulations, (a) respecting any matter that this Act describes as being prescribed by or provided for in the regulations, or that is to be done in accordance with the regulations; (b) governing the service of documents; (c) defining or clarifying any word or expression used in this Act but not otherwise defined; (d) declaring an “Equal Pay Day”; (e) governing pay transparency reports, including, without being limited to, their content and form; (f) governing the collection, use, disclosure, storage and reporting of information in connection with a requirement to prepare pay transparency reports under subsection 7 (1); (g) governing compliance audits, including requirements on how compliance officers conduct compliance audi…

21 Repealed: 2023, c. 12, Sched. 1, s. 78 (2). Section Amendments with date in force (d/m/y) 2023, c. 12, Sched. 1, s. 78 (2) - 08/06/2023

22 Omitted (provides for coming into force of provisions of this Act). 2018, c. 17, Sched. 32, s. 1; 2023, c. 12, Sched. 1, s. 78 (3). Section Amendments with date in force (d/m/y) 2018, c. 17, Sched. 32, s. 1 - 06/12/2018 2023, c. 12, Sched. 1, s. 78 (3) - 08/06/2023

23 Omitted (enacts short title of this Act). ______________