Effective January 1, 2026, new rules related to job postings and the hiring process will take effect in Ontario.
Please note these new rules do not apply to an employer that employs fewer than 25 employees on the day the publicly advertised job posting is posted.
The Ontario Employment Standards Act defines a “Publicly advertised job posting” 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.
A publicly advertised job posting does not include,
(a) a general recruitment campaign that does not advertise a specific position,
(b) a general help wanted sign that does not advertise a specific position,
(c) a posting for a position that is restricted to existing employees of the employer, or
(d) a posting for a position for which work is to be,
(i) performed outside Ontario, or
(ii) performed outside Ontario and in Ontario and the work performed outside Ontario is not a continuation of work performed in Ontario.
New Rules in the Recruitment Process effective January 1, 2026
1. Disclosure of expected compensation
Employers are required to include the expected compensation or the range of expected compensation for the position in publicly advertised job postings. The range of expected compensation cannot be greater than $50,000.
This requirement does not apply if a publicly advertised job posting is for a position that has an expected compensation equivalent to more than $200,000 annually or for a position that has a range of expected compensation that ends at an amount equivalent to more than $200,000 annually.
2. Disclosure of artificial intelligence
Ontario employers are required to disclose if artificial intelligence is used during their hiring process in the job posting.
“Artificial intelligence” means 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.
3. Canadian experience
An employer cannot include in a publicly advertised job posting or in any associated application form any requirements related to Canadian experience.
4. Vacancy
Every employer who advertises a publicly advertised job posting must include in the posting a statement disclosing whether the posting is for an existing vacancy or not.
New Rules in the Interview Process effective January 1, 2026
5. Interview results
When an employer interviews an applicant for a publicly advertised position, the employer is required to advise the applicant whether a hiring decision has been made in respect of the publicly advertised job posting.
This information must be provided to the applicant 45 days after the date of the interview or, if the employer interviews the applicant more than once for the publicly advertised job posting, within 45 days after the date of the last interview to advise the applicant whether a hiring decision has been made in respect of the publicly advertised job posting. The information can be provided in person, in writing or using technology.
“Interview” means 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. Recordkeeping
An employer must retain copies of every publicly advertised job posting and any associated application form for 3 years after access to the posting by the general public is removed.
In addition, an employer must retain copies of information provided to interviewed applicants for 3 years after the day the information was provided to the applicant.
If you would like to discuss any of the above with regard to your business in greater detail, we recommend reaching out to speak to an e2r® Advisor.