All publicly advertised job postings in Ontario must include a salary rate or range starting on Jan. 1, 2019, under new legislation approved on Thursday, the Ontario Ministry of Labour announced.

The legislation also:

• Bars employers from asking job candidates about their past compensation.
• Prohibits reprisals against employees who discuss or disclose compensation.
• Establishes a framework to require larger employers to track and report compensation gaps based on gender and other diversity characteristics. Employers must then post the data within their own workplaces and report it to the province.

“This new legislation is part of our overall commitment to fairness in Ontario’s workplaces and will help ensure that women and other groups are treated equitably,” Minister of Labour Kevin Flynn said. “The Pay Transparency Act, 2018 will aid us in narrowing the gender wage gap.”

For more information on the law click here.

The act is the first of its kind among provinces, writes Maria Gergin of law firm Borden Ladner Gervais LLP in Lexology.