Employment Equity Regulations (SOR/96-470)

Interpretation

• 1 (1) The definitions in this subsection apply in these Regulations.

  Act

  Act means the Employment Equity Act. (Loi)

  bonus pay

  bonus pay, in respect of a private sector employer, means any additional remuneration paid to an employee as a result of profit sharing, productivity, performance, commissions or any other incentives. (prime)

  designated CMA

  designated CMA[Repealed, SOR/2020-236, s. 1]

  employment equity report

  employment equity report means a report that a private sector employer is required to file under section 18 of the Act. (rapport sur l’équité en matière d’emploi)

  former Regulations

  former Regulations[Repealed, SOR/2020-236, s. 1]

  overtime hours

  overtime hours, in respect of a private sector employer, means the hours worked by an employee, in excess of the standard hours of work, for which the employee received overtime pay. (heures supplémentaires)

  overtime pay

  overtime pay, in respect of a private sector employer, means any remuneration paid for the hours worked by an employee in excess of the standard hours of work. (paie d’heures supplémentaires)

  permanent full-time employee

  permanent full-time employee means a person who is employed for an indeterminate period by a private sector employer to regularly work the standard number of hours fixed by the employer for employees in the occupational group in which the person is employed. (salarié permanent à plein temps)

  permanent part-time employee

  permanent part-time employee means a person who is employed for an indeterminate period by a private sector employer to regularly work fewer than the standard number of hours fixed by the employer for employees in the occupational group in which the person is employed. (salarié permanent à temps partiel)

  reporting period

  reporting period means the calendar year in respect of which an employment equity report is filed. (période de rapport)

  temporary employee

  temporary employee means a person who is employed on a temporary basis by a private sector employer for any number of hours within a fixed period or periods totalling 12 weeks or more during a calendar year, but does not include a person in full-time attendance at a secondary or post-secondary educational institution who is employed during a school break. (salarié temporaire)

• (2) For the purposes of the Act,

  employee

  employee, in respect of

  • (a) a private sector employer, means a person who is employed by the employer, but does not include a person employed on a temporary or casual basis for fewer than 12 weeks in a calendar year;

  • (b) a portion of the federal public administration referred to in paragraph 4(1)(b) or (c) of the Act to which the Public Service Employment Act applies, means a person who has been appointed or deployed to that portion pursuant to that Act, but does not include

    • (i) a person appointed as a casual worker under subsection 50(1) of that Act, or

    • (ii) a person appointed for a period of less than three months; and

  • (c) a portion of the federal public administration referred to in paragraph 4(1)(b) or (c) of the Act to which the Public Service Employment Act does not apply, means a person appointed to that portion in accordance with the enactment establishing that portion, but does not include a person employed on a temporary or casual basis for a period of less than three months. (salarié)

  hired

  hired, in respect of

  • (a) an employee employed by a private sector employer, means engaged by the employer;

  • (b) an employee employed in a portion of the federal public administration referred to in paragraph 4(1)(b) or (c) of the Act to which the Public Service Employment Act applies, means initially appointed to the federal public administration in accordance with that Act except in the case of a person appointed as a casual worker under subsection 50(1) of that Act; and

  • (c) an employee employed in a portion of the federal public administration referred to in paragraph 4(1)(b) or (c) of the Act to which the Public Service Employment Act does not apply, means initially appointed in the manner provided in the enactment establishing that portion. (recrutement)

  occupational group

  occupational group, in respect of

  • (a) the workforce of a private sector employer or a portion of the federal public administration referred to in paragraph 4(1)(c) of the Act, means an occupational group set out in column I of Schedule II; and

  • (b) a portion of the federal public administration referred to in paragraph 4(1)(b) of the Act, means an occupational group set out in column I of Schedule III. (catégorie professionnelle)

  promoted

  promoted, in respect of

  • (a) an employee employed in a portion of the federal public administration referred to in paragraph 4(1)(b) or (c) of the Act to which the Public Service Employment Act applies, has the same meaning as the definition promotion in section 3 of the Definition of Promotion Regulations;

  • (b) an employee employed in a portion of the federal public administration referred to in paragraph 4(1)(b) or (c) of the Act to which the Public Service Employment Act does not apply, has the meaning customarily used by that portion; and

  • (c) an employee employed by a private sector employer, means permanently moved from one position or job in the employer’s organization to another position or job that

    • (i) has a higher salary or a higher salary range than the salary or salary range of the position or job previously held by the employee, and

    • (ii) ranks higher in the organizational hierarchy of the employer,

    and includes a reclassification of the employee’s position or job where the reclassified position or job meets the requirements of subparagraphs (i) and (ii). (avancement)

  salary

  salary, in respect of

  • (a) a private sector employer, means remuneration paid for work performed by an employee, before deductions, in the form of basic pay, pay for piecework, shift premiums, bonus pay and overtime pay, but does not include benefits, securities, severance pay or termination pay, vacation pay, payment in kind, supplementary payments, allowances, retroactive payments, reimbursements for employment expenses or compensation for extra-duty services other than overtime pay;

  • (b) a portion of the federal public administration referred to in paragraph 4(1)(b) of the Act, means the rate of pay paid to an employee under a collective agreement or the rate approved by Treasury Board under any other applicable pay authority; and

  • (c) a portion of the federal public administration referred to in paragraph 4(1)(c) of the Act, means the rate of pay paid to an employee under a collective agreement or any other applicable pay authority. (rémunération)

  terminated

  terminated, in respect of an employee, means retired, resigned, laid off, dismissed or otherwise having ceased to be an employee, but does not include laid off temporarily or absent by reason of illness, injury or a labour dispute. (cessation de fonctions)

PART IGeneral

Calculation of Number of Employees

2 For the purpose of determining when an employer is considered to employ 100 or more employees,

• (a) the number of employees of a private sector employer shall be calculated on the basis of the number at the time in a calendar year when the number of employees is the greatest; and

• (b) the number of employees employed in a portion of the federal public administration referred to in paragraph 4(1)(c) of the Act shall be calculated on the basis of the number at the time in a fiscal year when the number of employees employed in that portion is the greatest.

Collection of Workforce Information

• 3 (1) Subject to subsections (8) and (9), before preparing an employment equity plan referred to in section 10 of the Act, an employer shall conduct a workforce survey by providing to each employee a workforce survey questionnaire that asks the employee whether the employee is

  • (a) a member of a visible minority;

  • (b) a person with a disability; or

  • (c) an Aboriginal person.

• (2) The questionnaire shall contain the definitions Aboriginal peoples, members of visible minorities and persons with disabilities set out in section 3 of the Act to help the employee respond to the questionnaire.

• (3) [Repealed, SOR/2020-236, s. 2]

• (4) The employer shall inform each employee, either on the questionnaire or in a notice accompanying the questionnaire, that a person may be a member of more than one designated group.

• (5) The questionnaire may include additional questions relating to employment equity.

• (6) The questionnaire shall indicate that

  • (a) responses to the questions on the questionnaire are voluntary; and

  • (b) the information collected in the questionnaire is confidential and will only be used by or be disclosed to other persons within the employer’s organization in order for the employer to carry out its obligations under the Act.

• (7) Paragraph (6)(a) shall not be construed as precluding an employer from requiring each employee to return the questionnaire to the employer.

• (8) An employer is not required to conduct a workforce survey in respect of all or part of its workforce under subsection (1) if

  • (a) before the coming into force of these Regulations, the employer has already conducted a survey in respect of all or that part of its workforce to determine whether the employees belong to any of the designated groups referred to in that subsection;

  • (b) the previous survey had questions and was conducted in a manner that achieved results that are likely to be as accurate as the results that would be achieved using a workforce survey questionnaire under this section;

  • (c) responses to the questions in the previous survey were voluntary; and

  • (d) the survey results have been kept up to date in accordance with section 5.

• (9) Where an employer replaces its employment equity plan with a new plan, the employer is not required to conduct a new workforce survey if the previous survey results have been kept up to date in accordance with section 5.

4 The employer shall ensure that there is a means of identifying, on the workforce survey questionnaire, the employee who returns it, whether by name or otherwise.

5 The employer shall keep the workforce survey results up to date by

• (a) providing a workforce survey questionnaire

  • (i) to an employee when the employee begins employment,

  • (ii) to an employee who wishes to change any information previously submitted on a questionnaire, or

  • (iii) to an employee who requests it;

• (b) making necessary adjustments to the survey results to take into account the responses to the questionnaires referred to in paragraph (a); and

• (c) making necessary adjustments to the survey results to take into account members of designated groups who have been terminated.