Be it enacted by the Lieutenant-Governor and
House of Assembly in Legislative Session convened, as follows:
Short title
1. This
Act may be cited as the Public Sector
Compensation Transparency Act.
Definitions
2. In
this Act
(a) "chief executive officer" means the
person responsible for the day to day operation of a public body;
(b) "employee", unless otherwise
indicated, means an individual who is, or was, employed by the public sector
during the year;
(c) "government" means a department
created under the Executive Council Act or
a branch of the executive government of the province;
(d) "leave payout" means the amount paid
to an employee for accumulated, unused leave;
(e) "minister" means the minister
appointed under the Executive Council Act
to administer this Act;
(f) "public body" means an entity designated in the regulations as a
public body;
(g) "public sector" means government or
a public body;
(h) "threshold" means the amount
prescribed in the regulations; and
(i) "total compensation" means the total
amount of compensation paid in a year to an employee, but does not include
leave payout or an amount paid in lieu of notice upon termination of
employment.
Disclosure by
government
3. Before
July 1 of each year the minister shall disclose the following information with
respect to each employee of government whose total compensation during the
previous year was greater than the threshold:
(a) the name of the employee;
(b) the title of the position the employee held on
December 31 of the previous year, or where the employee discontinued employment
with government during the year, the title of the position the employee held at
the time he or she discontinued employment;
(c) the department in which the employee was employed
on December 31 of the previous year, or, where the employee discontinued
employment with government during the year, the department in which the
employee was employed at the time he or she discontinued employment; and
(d) the amount of total compensation paid to the
employee.
Disclosure by
public body
4. (1) Before
July 1 of each year the chief executive officer shall disclose to the minister and the public,
in the form and manner determined by the minister, the following information
with respect to each employee of the public body whose total compensation
during the previous year was greater than the threshold:
(a) the name of the employee;
(b) the title of the position the employee held on
December 31 of the previous year, or where the employee discontinued employment
with the public body during the year, the title of the position the employee
held at the time he or she discontinued employment; and
(c) the amount of total compensation paid to the
employee.
(2) The minister may, on application by a public
body, extend the deadline for disclosure by a public body.
Total
compensation amount rounded
5. The
total compensation amounts referred to in paragraphs 3(d) and 4(c) shall be
rounded to the nearest multiple of one hundred dollars.
No disclosure
required
6. Where
a public body does not have employees whose total compensation was greater than
the threshold during the previous year, the chief executive officer shall
advise the public and the minister in the form and manner determined by the minister.
Exemptions - employees
7. (1) The
deputy minister of a department or the chief executive officer of a public body
may exempt information from being disclosed regarding an employee where
(a) a written application is submitted in the time
period prescribed in the regulations, by, or on behalf of, the employee to
(i) the deputy minister of the department where
the employee is employed, or
(ii) the chief executive officer of the public body
where the employee is employed; and
(b) the deputy minister of the department or the chief
executive officer of the public body is of the opinion that disclosure of the
information could reasonably be expected to threaten the safety or mental or
physical health of the employee.
(2) Where an employee is dissatisfied with the
decision of the deputy minister or chief executive officer under subsection (1)
he or she may appeal the decision to the President of Treasury Board.
(3) The President of Treasury Board may exempt
information from being disclosed regarding an employee where
(a) the employee submits the appeal in the time
prescribed in the regulations; and
(b) the President of Treasury Board is of the
opinion that disclosure of the information could reasonably be expected to
threaten the safety or mental or physical health of the employee.
Exemption - category
of employees
8. (1) The
Lieutenant-Governor in Council may exempt information from being disclosed
regarding a category of employees where the Lieutenant-Governor in Council is
of the opinion that disclosure of the information could reasonably be expected
to threaten the safety or mental or physical health of those employees.
(2) The Lieutenant-Governor in Council may
prescribe in the regulations other grounds to exempt information from being disclosed
regarding a category of employees.
Disclosure re:
exemptions
9. (1) Where
information is exempted from disclosure under this Act
(a) the minister shall disclose to the public that
information has been exempted with respect to employees of government; and
(b) the chief executive officer of the public body
shall disclose to the minister and the public that information has been exempted
with respect to employees of the public body.
(2) The Lieutenant-Governor in Council may
prescribe in regulations the information to be included in the disclosure under
subsection (1).
Powers of
minister
10. The
minister may
(a) establish a process for correcting disclosure
under this Act;
(b) aggregate or republish all or part of the
information disclosed under this Act;
(c) require a public body to provide information
to determine whether the public body is complying with this Act; and
(d) make public the failure of a public body to
comply with this Act.
Audit by comptroller
general
11. (1) The minister may direct the comptroller general
to audit the records of a public body to determine whether the public body is
complying with this Act.
(2) A
public body shall permit the comptroller general to review the records of the
public body.
Regulations
12. The
Lieutenant-Governor in Council may make regulations
(a) prescribing the threshold;
(b) designating entities as public bodies under
this Act;
(c) prescribing the specific categories of
compensation for which amounts shall be specifically identified in the total
compensation amount referred to in paragraphs 3(d) and 4(c);
(d) prescribing the time within which an
application and appeal shall be submitted under section 7;
(e) prescribing the time within which a decision
under section 7 shall be communicated to the employee who filed the application
or appeal;
(f) prescribing the grounds on which the
Lieutenant-Governor in Council may exempt information from being disclosed
regarding a category of employees;
(g) prescribing the information to be included in
a disclosure under subsection 9(2);
(h) re-defining or further defining a word or
expression defined in this Act;
(i) defining
a word or expression used but not defined
in this Act; and
(j) generally, to give effect to the purpose
of this Act.
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