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Amendments to Ontario\u2019s Employment Standards Act\u00a0<\/em>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.<\/p>\n The rules below apply to \u201cpublic job postings.\u201d They do not apply to internal company postings, general recruitment messages (\u201chelp wanted\u201d) and positions outside of Ontario.<\/p>\n Compensation disclosure<\/strong><\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n No \u201cCanadian experience\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n Job postings may not list \u201cCanadian experience\u201d 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.<\/p>\n AI vetting<\/strong><\/p>\n Employers must disclose in the posting if they are using artificial intelligence tools to \u201cscreen, assess or select\u201d applicants. If asked to look into an applicant\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n Vacancy status<\/strong><\/p>\n 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\u2019 time and keeps them out of the workforce while they wait for responses that never come because the job isn\u2019t really there.<\/p>\n Let them know either way<\/strong><\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Retain records<\/strong><\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n