Employment equity (federal)
Employment equity is the federal regime under the Employment Equity Act, whose stated purpose includes correcting the conditions of disadvantage in employment experienced by four designated groups: women, Aboriginal peoples (the Act’s term), persons with disabilities and members of visible minorities. A covered private sector employer prepares a plan, keeps records and files an annual report.
A buyer meets employment equity when the target is a federally regulated employer. Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) says the Act applies to federally regulated industries, Crown corporations and other federal organizations with a stated headcount. See what employment liabilities a buyer inherits for the wider checklist.
What the Act asks of an employer
- Prepare an employment equity plan (section 10) and keep employment equity records (section 17).
- File an annual report with the Minister if the employer is a “private sector employer”, a term the Act defines by a headcount on a federal work, undertaking or business, with exclusions (section 18, which also lets the Minister grant an exemption).
- Report to ESDC’s Legislated Employment Equity Program. ESDC says the Canadian Human Rights Commission is responsible for ensuring employers comply.
What to ask
Ask whether the target is covered, whether its plan and reports are current, and who holds the records. ESDC says provincially regulated employers can be covered by its Federal Contractors Program; ask whether the target has a federal contract. The federally regulated employer entry explains the wider test.
Sources
This definition is checked against primary sources. Links were last confirmed on the dates shown.
- 01Government of Canada (Department of Justice)GovernmentEmployment Equity Act (S.C. 1995, c. 44)
- 02Employment and Social Development CanadaGovernmentAbout the Workplace Equity Program
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