Ontario’s Pay Equity Office (PEO) has requested information from private sector employers in an effort to assess the effectiveness of legislation to close the gender wage gap.
According to Towers Watson, the PEO has asked “key” employers for information on respective pay, salary range, length of service and gender designation of jobs in their organizations.
The companies have been given 45 days to return the data. Failure to do so will result in “further review” as will any evidence of continued gender wage gap.
“This initiative raises a number of questions for private sector employers including the authority of the PEO to request such information and the consequences for employers if they do not provide the requested information,” reads a notice from Towers Watson.
“Section 33 of the Pay Equity Act gives the PEO the right to conduct research but the question raised is whether that extends to the request for the extensive information asked for in the letter. The legality of the request will likely be determined in the near future when an employer decides not to respond to the request.”
The letters requesting the information were addressed the CEO, president or other senior executives at the companies, and Towers Watson urges organizations to double check their incoming mail to ensure they haven’t missed the letter.
Given that the Act has been in force for over 20 years, the PEO probably considers sufficient time has elapsed since its passing, and that there is little excuse for failure to close any wage gap.
“In all cases we believe the key message underlying this initiative is that all employers must have achieved and be maintaining pay equity in accordance with the requirements of the Act,” says Towers Watson.
Ontario is not alone in its scrutiny of pay equity. Employers in Quebec with more than 10 employees are required to conduct either a first pay equity exercise or to demonstrate maintenance on a regular basis. As of March 2011, employers will have to certify annually to the Quebec government that they have met the requirements of the legislation.
“We encourage all employers to take this opportunity to satisfy themselves that they have taken the necessary steps to ensure their compliance with the Acts in both provinces,” the Towers Watson notice reads. “If you have any doubts, a pay equity audit can help you determine what you need to do to get there. Quebec now requires annual certification of compliance. Ontario doesn’t yet, but regular reviews and maintenance are definitely the easiest way to stay out of trouble (and off the radar).”