Canadian governments, past and present, have passed laws that attempt to create a fair and equitable country for all of its citizens. While there’s still a very long way to go, laws such as the Employment Equity Act (EEA) require many years of boots on the ground, often removing one barrier at a time before significant changes are finally realized.
For your individual rights, if you’ve been discriminated against at work, wrongfully terminated or are unsure if your employer’s actions violated your rights, speak with an employment lawyer at a leading Toronto employment law firm. They will give you an honest assessment of your case and can advise you on your rights and how to protect them in the workplace.
What is the Employment Equity Act?
First passed into law in 1995, the Employment Equity Act was created to remove the barriers to employment built up over generations of systemic, institutionalized discrimination. There are a couple of key differences, however, between the EEA and other laws designed to address discrimination:
- The Employment Equity Act has a somewhat unique mandate – its goals are to remove discriminatory barriers to employment specifically for four groups of people (known as designated groups) that were identified as being the most disenfranchised – Aboriginal Canadians, women, persons with disabilities and people of colour.
- Unlike laws such as the Ontario Human Rights Code, which makes discrimination illegal and is used to address discriminatory acts after they happen, the EEA is a ‘proactive’ law that compels action and is used by organizations like the Canadian Human Rights Commission(the Commission) to actively seek out discriminatory practices and procedures in workplaces where designated groups are under-represented.
The Employment Equity Act is a federal law. This means that it only applies to industries that are cont
rolled by the federal government. Examples include telecommunications providers, banks, airlines and radio and TV broadcasters. The EEA also only applies to workplaces that employ at least 100 people.
How Does the Employment Equity Act Work?
The Act requires employers in federally-regulated industries with over 100 employees to look at the level of representation in their workforce by members of the designated groups.
They must then consult with employee representatives and partner with them to create an employment equity program aimed at addressing gaps in representation. The program is responsible for identifying barriers created by the workplace’s hiring process that adversely impact designated groups. They are required to draft an Employment Equity Plan for removing those barriers.
In workplaces with representation gaps, the employer bears responsibility for establishing and managing the Employment Equity Plan and for ensuring the Plan results in progress toward more equitable representation. Employers are also responsible for conducting regular reviews of the Plan and making adjustments when needed to ensure that progress is being made.
The Canadian Human Rights Commission conducts audits of workplaces subject to the EEA and requires employers with inadequate representation who are not complying with their EEA obligations to take actions that bring them back into compliance and are authorized to perform validation checks on those employers.