Regulations Amending Certain Regulations Made Under the Canada Labour Code (Equal Treatment and Temporary Help Agencies)

If you run a federally regulated business — think airlines, banks, railways, trucking companies, telecom firms, or grain handlers — you'll need to ensure your part-time and temporary workers earn the same hourly or piece rate as your permanent full-time staff doing comparable work, unless a specific exception applies (like a northern bonus, skills shortage pay, red-circling after a demotion, or training program rates). You'll also need to set up new record-keeping systems to document each employee's job description, employment status, working conditions, and any justification for pay differences — the RIAS estimates this record-keeping alone will cost employers about $4.5 million in present value across 10 years, with an average net cost to each of the roughly 19,250 affected small businesses of about $49 in present value (roughly $7 per year). When an employee requests a pay equity review, you have 90 days to respond in writing and must keep records of the request and your decision. Temporary help agencies face additional obligations: they cannot charge workers placement or preparation fees, must track client assignments and their start and end dates, and must pay agency workers the same rate as the client's own employees doing equivalent work.