New Requirements for B.C. Employers: the B.C. government recently implemented the Pay Transparency Act, which is currently in force and applies to all employers in B.C as of November 1, 2023 and imposes several new requirements on B.C. employers, including the following:
1. All employers must include the expected pay or pay range for the specific job opportunity in all job opportunities that they advertise publicly.
2. All employers must not ask job applicants what they have been paid at positions with other employers, but employers can still use pay history information they have about the employee to determine pay for a new position and rely on publicly accessible information on the pay for similar positions.
3. All employers must not discipline, terminate, suspend, demote, harass, or disadvantage an employee (or threaten to do so) because the employee: asks the employer about their pay; reveals pay to another employee or someone applying to the employer; asks the employer about their Transparency Report; or gives information to the Director of Pay Transparency about their employer.
4. Employers with 50 or more employees must complete and publicly post an annual “Pay Transparency Report” by November 1, 2026. Employers with 300 or more employees must complete and publicly post an annual “Pay Transparency Report” by November 1, 2025. At this time, there is no anticipated Transparency Report completion or posting requirement for B.C. employers with less than 50 employees.