Delays in passing regulations related to Pay Equity & Pay Transparency Act

Following passage in November 2022, Newfoundland and Labrador’s Bill P-3.02 – An Act Respecting Pay Equity for the Public Sector and Pay Transparency for the Public and Private Sectors – the government noted that the sections of the Act related to pay transparency would not come into force until such time as regulations were developed. At the time, the government stated the regulations would be developed in Fall 2023. RCC members have been awaiting the development of these regulations as they would increase the accountability of the public and private sector related to pay transparency. In conversations with senior government officials, RCC has been informed these regulations will not be enacted in 2023. Government officials would not provide further comment other than to state their goal is to have these regulations implemented at some point in 2024. RCC members will remember that once enacted, these regulations will prohibit employers from:

• asking about an applicant’s pay history;
• seeking pay history about a job applicant unless the pay history is publicly available and/or the applicant voluntarily (and without prompting) discloses such information;
• reprisals against employees who ask about or share their pay information; and,
• reprisals against employees who make inquiries about pay transparency reports.