Equal Pay Provisions Bulletin

The following questions and answers are for information purposes only. For actual interpretation and application purposes refer to the Employment Standards Act and regulations, or contact an Employment Standards Officer in the Labour Services Office on the 3rd Floor of the Law Centre, 2130-2nd Avenue, Whitehorse, Yukon or call (867) 667-5944 (toll free within the Yukon 1-800-661-0408 extension 5944).

1. Does the Act contain equal pay provisions?
   
   The intention of the equal pay provisions of the Act is to ensure that employers do not discriminate between employees on the basis of sex. For example, male and female employees in the same establishment cannot be paid at different rates if the employees' working conditions and duties are similar.
   
   
2. Are there any exceptions?
   
   Pay rates can differ if the difference is due to a merit or seniority system, a system that measures earnings by quality or quantity, or a differential based on any factor other than sex.
   
   Employers should be aware that the Yukon Human Rights Act prohibits discrimination on a number of grounds that may affect the employer-employee relationship.
   
   
3. Can the employer reduce a pay rate in order to comply?
   
   An employer cannot reduce the pay rate of one group of employees in order to comply with the requirement to pay two groups of employees the same rate.
   
   
4. Can an employer or employee organization bargain for different pay rates?
   
   Any agreement which contravenes the Act is illegal. The equal pay provisions cannot be avoided by virtue of a collective or written agreement.
   
   
5. What action may be taken should a breach of the equal pay provisions occur?
   
   The Director of Employment Standards would determine the amount owing as unpaid wages. These wages can be collected by the procedures established under the Act.
   
   
6. Is equal pay the same as equal pay for work of equal value?
   
   Equal value or "pay equity" is different from equal pay under the Act. Pay equity is based on the principle that women's jobs tend to be undervalued. It allows comparisons of pay rates between male and female employees working in dissimilar jobs in the same establishment with the goal of narrowing the wage gap by determining the value of different jobs to an employer.
   
   
7. Who enforces equal value legislation?
   
   Equal value or "pay equity" legislation in Yukon is the jurisdiction of the Yukon Human Rights Commission. The section of the Human Rights Act dealing with "pay equity" came into effect on December 10, 1987 and applies only to the Government of Yukon, municipalities and their corporation, boards and commissions. Further information can be obtained from the Human Rights Commission, 667-6226.