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Amendments to Ontario’s Employment Standards Act coming into effect Jan. 1 will impact how companies with more than 25 employees are required to make job postings. Violations of these rules carry penalties of up to $100,000 (up to $750,000 for repeat offences) and even the possibility of jail time. The Ministry of Labour will investigate violations based on complaints received.
The rules below apply to “public job postings.” They do not apply to internal company postings, general recruitment messages (“help wanted”) and positions outside of Ontario.
Compensation disclosure
Public job postings must now include a statement of the approximate wages for the position, with a range not exceeding $50,000. Positions paying more than $200,000 are exempt. Bonuses, commissions, tips and other irregular pay do not have to be included.
No “Canadian experience”
Job postings may not list “Canadian experience” as a requirement for consideration. This term is pretty clearly a filter designed to discriminate against recent immigrants, and therefore could come up against human rights rules prohibiting discrimination based on race and ethnicity.
AI vetting
Employers must disclose in the posting if they are using artificial intelligence tools to “screen, assess or select” applicants. If asked to look into an applicant’s background, an AI tool could be searching online information including private websites and social media posts. The applicant should have a chance to decide whether they want the employer seeing their personal communications.
Vacancy status
The posting must indicate whether it is for a presently vacant position or not. Some companies are in the bad habit of leaving job postings permanently on their sites or on job boards in hopes of compiling lists of potential applicants in case of future needs. This wastes applicants’ time and keeps them out of the workforce while they wait for responses that never come because the job isn’t really there.
Let them know either way
Interviewed applicants must be informed within 45 days whether a hiring decision has been made or not. This would appear to be another measure designed to prevent people from sitting outside the workforce waiting for responses that never come.
Retain records
Companies must retain copies of all public job postings and the applications they received to them for three years. They must also retain all communications with interviewed applicants. This would be to facilitate future Ministry investigations into violations of the above rules, and other legal challenges.
Thanks to Hicks Morley for this explainer and these recommendations to company owners for next steps:
- Audit your job postings to make sure the above information is included;
- Remove “Canadian experience” from everything;
- Make notifying interviewees part of your hiring practice;
- Retain your postings and communications in an organized way for future retrieval.