About the Workplace Equity Program

The Employment Equity Act (the Act) identifies the designated groups as:

The Act applies to the following industries and workplaces:

• federally regulated industries
• Crown corporations
• other federal organizations with 100 employees or more
• portions of the federal public administration identified in:
  • Schedules I or IV and V of the Financial Administration Act, and
  • by order of the Governor in Council, which includes the Canadian Forces, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP)

  The Labour Program ensures that the following employers understand the Act and its requirements so they can meet their obligations:

  • federally regulated employers, covered under the Legislated Employment Equity Program, and
  • provincially regulated employers, covered under the Federal Contractors Program

  The Legislated Employment Equity Program (LEEP)

  This program ensures that federally regulated private-sector employers covered by the Act , report annually on:

  • the representation of the 4 designated groups in their workplaces, and
  • the steps they have taken to achieve full representation

  The Canadian Human Rights Commission receives these reports from the Labour Program. The Commission is responsible for ensuring that employers comply with the requirements of the Act .

  For more information about the LEEP 's reporting requirements and compliance policy, consult: Legislated Employment Equity Program.

  Federal Contractors Program (FCP)

  This program ensures that contractors who do business with the Government of Canada implement employment equity in their workplace.

  The FCP covers provincially-regulated employers with the following conditions:

  • they must have 100 or more employees, and
  • they must have a federal government contract for goods and services of $1 million or more

  For more information about the FCP 's requirements and compliance policy, consult: Federal Contractors Program.

  Services

  • Consultation on the Employment Equity Act Modernization Closed
  • Equi'Vision: An Employment Equity Tool New
  • Employer tools and resources
  • Apply for funding: Workplace Opportunities: Removing Barriers to Equity (WORBE) Not accepting applications

  Contact us

  Related links

  • Employment Equity Act Review Task Force
  • Employment Equity Achievement Awards
  • Overview of the 2022 Employment Equity Act Report
  • Guide: How to Improve Equity in the Workplace - Evidence-based Actions for Employers
  • Reports: Employment equity in federally regulated workplaces

  Footnotes

  Footnote 1

  Unless the context requires the use of the term Aboriginal peoples as it appears in the Employment Equity Act or as part of a proper name, the Labour Program uses the term Indigenous people.