Employment Law and Equality

1786 Words8 Pages
Employment equality has remains a very controversial and unresolved issue in Canada. Our country is growing in diversity and in this our employment laws had to be adapted to except these changes. These laws and legislations have had a great impact in employment and have affected the way companies do business in relation to the employment process. The statutory and common laws have created base regulations to remove the barriers in the workplace. Some many argue that these laws have affected employment relationships negatively. In contrast this essay explores the positive components of these laws and explores the governments reasoning for making these changes in our courts. There are three current statutory laws within my jurisdiction that are in direct relation to workplace equality: Employment Standards Act (Ontario); the Pay Equality Act (Ontario); and the Employment Equity Act (Federal) (Filsinger, 2010, pg265). The Employment Standards Act provides the minimal standards for working in Ontario. A major portion of this act has provisions that ensure women and men receive equal pay for performing substantially the same job (Equal Pay Equal Work, 2009). The Ontario Ministry of Labour defines substantially the same job as, a position that requires same skill, effort and responsibility from both male and female employees. However there are exceptions to this legislation and they are as follows: 1. Under an established seniority system the time an employee has worked for the employer is credited; if a merit system is present an employee can be paid more money or a bonus based on a system that measures work performance; a piecework system is another exception allow employers to base pay on the quality or quantity of work; and the final exception is paying different rate for any other reason not based on gender (ie. an employee making more hourly for working the night
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