Pay Transparency Act creates new requirements for B.C. employers

The Pay Transparency Act, introduced by the B.C. government, is an effort to address pay differences among groups of workers. At this stage, the legislation has only had its first reading in the legislature. The key elements of the bill are:

• A requirement that information about pay be included in publicly advertised job postings;
• A prohibition on seeking pay history information about job applicants;
• A prohibition on certain types of reprisals by employers against employees;
• The responsibility of specified employers to collect information from employees, if the employees are willing to disclose the information, for the purpose of preparing annual pay transparency reports;
• The publication, by specified employers, of annual pay transparency reports (will apply to employers employing 1,000 people or more (in 2024), 300 or more (2025), and, 50 or more (2026)); and,
• The publication, by the government, of annual reports containing specified information about pay gaps and trends.