AI Assistant Supporting Federal Pay Case Resolution

Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) has developed an AI assistant to help compensation agents (CAs) work through a large backlog of federal pay cases caused by the Phoenix Pay System. The tool analyzes case data and compares it against approved standard operating procedures, job aids, directives, and policies to provide CAs with relevant information and recommendations. It currently operates on synthetic (non-real) data for a specific type of pay case called 'actings' that are over 365 days old.

This system does not make decisions on its own. Compensation agents retain full decision-making authority and review every AI recommendation before any action is taken. The AI is designed to reduce the time agents spend manually looking up information, freeing them to focus on more complex aspects of case resolution. Early testing has shown an average 22% reduction in the time it takes to handle each case.

Public servants affected by pay issues benefit indirectly as their cases can be resolved more quickly. The Government of Canada is committed to transparency about how this system works: each recommendation produced by the AI includes an explanation of the steps taken to arrive at it, and a full audit trail is maintained. Individuals whose pay cases are affected have the right to understand how the AI contributed to any decision and to seek recourse if needed.