Employment Standards Act – Pay Transparency

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New rules regarding Pay Transparency are coming into force in Prince Edward Island on June 1, 2022. During the last Fall sitting of the Provincial Legislature, a Private Members Bill was passed, which amended the Employment Standards Act to include these new rules.

The first new rule for Pay Transparency, section 5.8, provides that no employer can seek pay history information about an applicant. This does not preclude an applicant from voluntarily and without prompting disclosing pay history information to an employer and it also does not prohibit an employer from asking an applicant about pay expectations.

The second new rule for Pay Transparency, section 5.9, provides that employers who publish a publicly advertised job posting must include information about the expected pay for the position or the range of expected pay for the position.

The third new rule for Pay Transparency, section 5.10, provides that no employer, or person acting on behalf of an employer, shall intimidate, dismiss or otherwise penalize an employee or threaten to do so because the employee has done any of the following:

    • made inquiries to the employer about the employee’s pay, or made inquiries or requested information relating to the employer’s pay policies,
    • disclosed the employee’s pay to another employee,
    • given information about the employer’s compliance or non-compliance with the requirements of the Pay Transparency provisions to an Inspector, or
    • asked the employer to comply with the Pay Transparency provisions.

If you are interested in viewing the Bill, it can be found by visiting the Provincial Legislature website at: