The Ontario government recently announced that it plans on introducing new pay transparency law that will impact most employers throughout the province, specifically, companies that must follow the Ontario Employment Standards Act, 2000.
Ontario Pay Transparency Law
The new law would require all provincially-regulated employers to include important information in their job postings or advertisements. With reference to pay discrepancy statistics, the Minister of Labour noted that: “women today in Ontario earn an average of 87 cents for every dollar earned by men,” and observing one way of closing to gender gap would be to include: “salary ranges with job postings can help close the gender pay gap, while allowing companies to find qualified candidates faster and improve retention, helping tackle the labour shortage.”
This would be a significant development in the job hiring or recruitment process in the province, since currently only about thirty-seven per cent (37%) of online job postings in Ontario (2022) included salary information. However, it would simply follow the lead of other jurisdictions with Ontario pay transparency law (which had been proposed under the previous leadership), including in British Columbia. In that province, as of May 2023:
- As of May 2023, employers in British Columbia are prohibited from asking job candidates how much they were paid in former positions and may not preclude employees from asking about their pay or discussing it with coworkers.
- All B.C. employers now have to include wage and salary information in their public job postings.
- Pay transparency reports will be required to show a breakdown of pay for employees based on gender.
Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Hiring Process
To keep track with the increasing use of AI, the new workplace law would also require employers in the province to disclose to potential job candidates if they are using AI as part of their decision-making process. For most job seekers applying on websites such as Indeed.com with one-click job applications, this would be seem to be a prudent change to better ensure fair hiring practices. As the Minister of Labour noted:
“For a worker who applies today to an online ad, within seconds of hitting send on that resume a recruiter’s AI system can choose them as a preferred candidate and screen out thousands of other applicants… AI systems are able to tell age, sex, race, religion, political affiliation and can even evaluate your social media accounts to see if someone’s personal traits would be a good fit for a company’s culture. Moreover, experts have very legitimate concerns over data collection and personal privacy.”
Prohibiting Confidentiality/Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDA’s) in Workplace Harassment Cases
The province also announced its intention to prohibit the use of non-disclosure (or confidentiality) agreements in cases of workplace sexual harassment, misconduct or violence, with the aim of preventing employers from using them “to silence victims or to sidestep accountability.” This too would be a significant development, especially in wrongful dismissal, constructive dismissal or discrimination cases in the private sector where these issues arise where government research shows 70% of workers have reported experiencing a form of harassment or violence in their workplace.
Protection of Foreign Nationals
The new legislation would also introduce harsher penalties for individuals or corporations convicted of taking possession of property to which a foreign national is entitled, such as passports or work permits. For individuals, the penalty can result in a fine of up to $500,000, imprisonment for up to 12 months, or both. On the other hand, for corporations, penalties include fines of up to $1,000,000. Additionally, the Ontario Labour Relations Board can assess penalties for contravention and reduce them if they are found to be excessive or punitive.
Vacation Pay
In addition, the government is proposing changes to clarify vacation pay requirements under the Ontario Employment Standards Act, 2000 to ensure employees are aware that their written agreement is required if vacation pay is paid in any way other than a lump sum before their vacation.
Call Employment Lawyer Toronto Today
If you are an employee who believes you were wrongfully dismissed from your employment with or without a fair severance package, call today to discuss your options. As an employment law firm in Toronto, Bune Law has reviewed and negotiated improvements to many severance packages. You will review and get guidance on your severance package before you agree to sign any termination documents, and help ensure that your severance package is fair and reasonable.