The Office has the authority to enforce the Act. It has broad general powers to do what is necessary to fulfill this mandate. In recent years the Office has conducted several types of compliance programs to identify employers who may not be current with their pay equity obligations and to provide assistance to them to achieve pay equity. Details of the Office’s past monitoring programs are reported in the Annual Reports.

For proactive compliance purposes, the Office seeks to determine the status of pay equity in individual workplaces by asking employers to provide information about their establishment, workforce and wage rates. If the Office does not receive a reply from the employer or the replies are inadequate, a Review Officer may be assigned to investigate the employer and make orders that are necessary to ensure that the employer is meeting its legal obligation to achieve and maintain pay equity in its establishment(s).