The Ontario government has introduced significant changes to the rules regarding job postings – in an effort to increase transparency for job seekers. This is consistent with a trend that we are seeing across the country to enhance employer transparency. In an earlier post we provided a breakdown of the key elements of these new laws and what they mean for employers, but at that time there were still many questions regarding the scope of the new requirements, whether there would be any limitations on these requirements and when the changes would come into force. Many of these questions have now been answered.
Recap – Ontario Job Posting Amendments
Ontario included changes to job postings rules in Bill 149 and Bill 190. Both of these bills have now passed into law and the government recently announced that the job posting changes will come into force on January 1, 2026. On August 21, 2024 the government posted a consultation paper on job postings which sought public input on a number of issues related to the new job posting rules. These included questions such as:
- How should “publicly advertised job posting”, “AI” and “interview” be defined?
- What is the appropriate limit on the range that can be used for a salary range?
- Should jobs with a high salary be exempt for the disclosure requirement, and if so, what should the threshold be?
- Should employers be required to disclose the approximate timeframe a vacancy is expected?
- Should there be any exceptions based on size of employer?
- Is 30 days a reasonable time to follow up with an interviewee? If not, how long?
- Proposed information to be provided to interviewee could include advising whether or not a hiring decision has been made. Is there any other information that should be required?
- Should the manner of contacting the interviewee be set out in regulation (ie. by phone, by email etc.)
On November 29, 2024 the government filed Regulation 476/24 – Rules and Exemptions re Job Postings. This regulation provides answers to many of the above questions and clarifies the job posting requirements.
Scope of the New Job Posting Requirements
The Regulation creates some limits on the scope of the new job posting requirements. First, it provides that the new requirements will only apply to employers with 25 or more employees on the day that the public job posting is posted.
Second, the new job posting requirements only apply to a “publicly advertised job posting”. The Regulation defines a “publicly advertised job posting” as an external job posting advertised to the general public in any manner, but not including:
- a general recruitment campaign that does not advertise a specific position,
- a general help wanted sign that does not advertise a specific position,
- a posting for a position that is restricted to existing employees of the employer, or
- a posting for a position for which work is to be performed outside Ontario, or performed outside Ontario and in Ontario and the work performed outside Ontario is not a continuation of work performed in Ontario.
Mandatory Compensation Disclosure
One of the most notable aspects of the coming Ontario law is the requirement for employers to include expected compensation or a range of expected compensation in publicly advertised job postings. This move is designed to provide job seekers with a better understanding of what they can expect to earn, helping them make more informed decisions about applying for positions.
The Regulation has provided more clarity on this requirement as well. While the Regulation does not exclude specific industries or occupations, it does provide that the compensation disclosure requirement does not apply if the expected compensation for the position is $200,000 per year or more, or if the high end of the salary range is $200,000 per year or more. In those circumstances, the salary or salary range does not have to be included in a publicly advertised job posting.
The Regulation also imposed a limit on the range that can be included in a publicly advertised job posting. If a salary range is used in a job posting, the range cannot be more than $50,000.
Disclosure of AI Usage in Hiring
In an age where technology is increasingly used to simplify the hiring process, the new law mandates that publicly advertised job postings must disclose any use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the screening, assessment, or selection of applicants.
As we have discussed before, AI tools may have inherent biases. For example, Amazon stopped using a hiring algorithm after finding it favored applicants based on words like “executed” or “captured,” which were more commonly found on men’s resumes. Transparency regarding AI usage may encourage employers to be more mindful of the ethical implications of using AI in recruitment.
The Regulation defines “artificial intelligence” as “a machine-based system that, for explicit or implicit objectives, infers from the input it receives in order to generate outputs such as predictions, content, recommendations or decisions that can influence physical or virtual environments”. To comply with this requirement, employers will have to have a solid understanding of all technology that they use in the hiring process, and they will need to understand whether any technology that they use meets this definition of AI.
To prepare for this new requirement, employers should assess all of the technology that is used in the hiring process (including technology used by any third parties or integrated in your existing systems) and determine whether it meets the definition of AI.
Employers’ Duty to Provide Information to Interviewees
Beyond job postings, employers will have a duty to provide certain information to applicants who are interviewed. This provision is intended to provide further transparency around an employer’s hiring process.
The Regulation defines an “interview”. It is defined as a meeting either in person or using technology between an applicant who has applied to a publicly advertised job posting and an employer or a person acting on behalf of an employer where questions are asked and answers are given to assess the applicant’s suitability for the position, but does not include preliminary screening before the selection of applicants for such a meeting.
There are a couple of important points to note based on this definition. First, the requirements that apply to interviewees specifically do not apply to applicants who only receive a preliminary screening. Second, the requirements will apply to an interviewee who is interviewed by a recruiter or other third party on behalf of the employer. The definition specifically applies to a meeting between an applicant and someone acting on behalf of an employer.
If this requirement applies, the Regulation provides that an interviewee must be told whether a hiring decision has been made. This information must be provided to the interviewee either in person, in writing or using technology within 45 days after the interview date (or after the last interview date if more than one interview).
Other Provinces’ Job Posting Rules
Just as a reminder, there are job posting requirements in other jurisdictions as well. British Columbia and Prince Edward Island require employers to include the expected pay or the range of expected pay for a position in a job posting. Prince Edward Island has just passed Bill 76 (not yet in force) which will exclude from this requirement recruitment campaigns, general help wanted signs, or job postings that are only advertised to the employer’s existing employees.
Newfoundland and Labrador has passed similar legislation, but it is not yet in force.
Employers hiring in Quebec must publish offers of employment, transfer or promotion in French. Where an employer publishes a position (as part of recruitment, hiring, transfer or promotion) in a language other than French, they must publish the position simultaneously in French. For more information on how Quebec’s French language laws impact hiring, see our earlier post: French Language Laws Triggered by 1 Quebec Employee.
Implications for Employers
These new regulations will require employers to adapt their recruitment processes to comply with new transparency requirements. This might involve updating job posting templates and policies, training HR staff on the new requirements, and ensuring that AI tools used in hiring are disclosed appropriately.
These changes may inspire similar reforms in other provinces. Employers should watch for more changes and further details on Ontario’s upcoming job posting regime.
For more information on hiring, including human rights protections, see our earlier post: Hiring in Canada? 4 Things to Know
How Compliance Works Helps HR Teams
Governments are continually responding to changes in the Canadian workplace by amending employment laws. This includes evolving employer transparency requirements. Compliance Works makes it easy to track and understand these changes. Subscribers can review Reminders to see changes and deadlines coming up in the next 60 days – particularly important in cases like this where the in force date is a long way down the road.
