Both Bill 149 (the Working for Workers Four Act, 2024) and Bill 190 (the Working for Workers Five Act, 2024) received Royal Assent and became law earlier this year. These two statutes introduced a number of changes to the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (the “ESA“) and to the Occupational Health and Safety Act (the “OHSA“). Some of these changes are already in effect, but others, including new requirements introduced with respect to publicly advertised job postings, were to take effect on a date to be proclaimed in the future.
We now have confirmation that the new requirements relating to job postings will come into force on January 1, 2026. In addition, an accompanying regulation has been enacted which provides additional information and clarification to employers about how these requirements will operate.
Who Will the New Requirements Apply To?
Importantly, we now know that the new job posting requirements will only apply to employers with 25 or more employees on the day the publicly advertised job posting is posted.
What is a Publicly Advertised Job Posting?
The regulation defines this as an external job posting that an employer or a person acting on behalf of an employer advertises to the general public in any manner. However, it does not include,
- 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.
What Are the Requirements?
As of January 1, 2026, the following requirements will apply to publicly advertised job postings:
1. Expected Compensation Range
An employer will be required to include information about the expected compensation (defined in the regulation as “wages” as defined in the ESA) for a position, or range of expected compensation, in the job posting. This range must not exceed $50,000.00 annually (e.g. a compensation range of $0-$150,000.00 would not be acceptable).
The regulation specifies that this requirement will not apply to positions where the expected compensation, or the upper limit of the expected range of compensation, is more than $200,000.00 in wages annually.
2. No Canadian Experience Requirement
An employer will be prohibited from including any requirement related to Canadian experience in a job posting or associated job application form.
3. Disclosure of Artificial Intelligence (“AI”)
An employer will be required to disclose in a job posting if it uses AI to screen, assess or select applicants. AI is defined in the regulation 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.”
4. Statement Regarding Job Vacancy
An employer will be required to include a statement in the job posting about whether the posting is for an existing vacancy and any other information as may be prescribed. For now, no additional information requirements have been established by regulation.
5. Advising Candidates of Hiring Decisions
An employer who interviews an applicant for a publicly advertised job posting must, within 45 days of an applicant’s interview (or last interview if there are multiple interviews), advise the applicant of whether a hiring decision has been made in respect of the position. This information may be provided in person, in writing or by using technology.
“Interview” is defined in the regulation as “a meeting in person or a meeting using technology, including but not limited to teleconference and videoconference 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.”
6. Retention of Job Postings
An employer must retain copies of every publicly advertised job posting and associated application form for three years after public access to the posting is removed and must retain a record of the information provided to applicants who have been interviewed for three years after it was provided to the applicant.
Key Takeaways
Now that we have additional information in regard to the job posting requirements, employers should begin making plans to ensure they will be ready to comply by January 1, 2026. We recommend that you review your policies, particularly in regard to hiring, and ensure that these align with the new requirements, and that any staff involved in the hiring process are properly trained on how to comply with same.
We can assist you to review and update your employment agreements and policies, and help you stay on top of legal changes like these and ensure your business is compliant. If you are an employee and want to understand how these new requirements impact you, please reach out to us.
The post Legislative Update: New Job Posting Requirements Will Take Effect January 1, 2026 appeared first on Rudner Law – Employment Lawyers.