The Commission does not approve employers’ pay equity plans and employers are not required to send their pay equity plans to the Commission. The Act sets out the process by which pay equity plans are deemed approved depending on whether or not the plan was developed with a bargaining agent.

In unionized settings, where a plan has been negotiated with the bargaining agent, it is deemed approved by the Commission when both parties sign it [14. (5)]. The employer must then post a copy in the workplace.

A pay equity plan is binding on both the employer and the bargaining agent and prevails over relevant sections of an existing collective agreement. The adjustments to rates of compensation are considered to be incorporated into the collective agreement [13. (10)].

For non-unionized settings, employees are entitled to review, comment, and object to the plan. The employer may amend the plan. Plans covering non-union employees must initially be posted for 90 days, during which time employees affected by the plan may comment on it to the employer. Employers then have seven days to prepare and post a notice stating whether the plan has been amended and, if so, to post copies of the amended plan with the changes clearly noted. From the date of the second posting, employees have 30 days to file an objection to the plan with the Commission. If no objection is filed within the 30-day period, the plan is deemed approved [15. (8)].