Ontario employers entered 2026 with a new set of legal obligations that many are still catching up on. As of January 1, 2026, the rules around how you advertise jobs in Ontario changed significantly, and if your business has 25 or more employees, these changes apply to you right now.
The requirements come from Ontario’s Working for Workers Four Act (Bill 149), which amended the Employment Standards Act. At Pivotal Solutions, our HR management and payroll management team has been closely tracking these changes and helping clients across Canada navigate the compliance requirements. If you have not yet updated your hiring practices to reflect the new rules, this guide is your starting point.
Why This Conversation Matters Right Now
These rules took effect three months ago, but a significant number of Ontario employers are still not fully compliant. Non-compliance with the new pay transparency and job posting rules can result in enforcement action under the Employment Standards Act, including monetary penalties and compliance orders. Beyond regulatory consequences, employers may also face reputational harm if postings are publicly criticized for failing to meet transparency standards.
The longer your organization waits to address these requirements, the greater your exposure. Every public job posting you publish without the required disclosures is a potential compliance risk. At Pivotal Solutions, we work with businesses every day to close these gaps before they become problems.
Who the Rules Apply To
The new pay transparency and job posting requirements apply to employers who employ 25 or more employees on the day a public job posting is made. This threshold is assessed at the time the posting is published, not based on annual averages or peak staffing levels.
This is an important detail for growing businesses. If your headcount fluctuates near that 25-employee threshold, you need to check your employee count every time you post a new role publicly. The rules apply to postings on job boards, company websites, social media, and any other public-facing recruitment platform.
What Your Job Postings Must Now Include
There are five key requirements every Ontario employer needs to understand.
The first is salary disclosure. Job postings must include information about the expected compensation for the position or the range of expected compensation. The compensation range cannot exceed $50,000 annually. This requirement does not apply to job postings where the expected compensation, or the high end of the range, is more than $200,000 annually. You can post a fixed salary or a range, but the range must be realistic and defensible. Posting an artificially wide range to test the market creates both legal and reputational risk.
The second requirement is AI disclosure. Employers must disclose if AI is used in screening or selection processes. This applies broadly, for example, if your applicant tracking system uses automated resume screening or candidate ranking, your posting must say so. AI use can encompass a wide range of tools, including resume-screening features within applicant tracking systems, automated ranking or scoring, and third-party screening platforms. Even if a human makes the final decision, the posting obligation may be triggered if AI is used earlier in the funnel.
Third, your posting must state whether the role is for an existing vacancy. This requirement is intended to prevent pipeline postings that advertise roles that may not actually exist. You need to be upfront with candidates about whether you are filling a current opening or building a future talent pipeline.
Fourth, employers are prohibited from including any requirements related to Canadian work experience in publicly advertised job postings. This change is designed to remove hiring barriers for internationally trained professionals and newcomers to Canada.
Fifth, employers must inform candidates who were interviewed for a position whether a hiring decision has been made within 45 days of the final interview. Leaving candidates in the dark after interviews is no longer acceptable under Ontario law.
Record Keeping Obligations
The new rules also create clear record retention requirements. Employers must retain copies of each publicly advertised job posting and any associated job application form for three years after the posting is taken down. This means you need a system in place to store and retrieve these records, whether through your HR platform, digital storage, or another documented process.
Why Pay Transparency Is Good for Business
Beyond compliance, these changes create a genuine opportunity. Research consistently shows that salary transparency improves the candidate experience and speeds up the hiring process on both sides. When candidates know the compensation range upfront, they can make an informed decision about whether to apply, which means the people who do apply are more likely to be genuinely interested and aligned with what the role pays.
For employers, that translates to fewer wasted interviews, faster offers, and better acceptance rates. Ontario’s new rules do not just protect job seekers. When implemented thoughtfully, they make your hiring process more efficient and your organization more attractive to the talent you actually want to hire.
Transparent job postings save time on both sides of the hiring process. Candidates who know the salary range upfront are more likely to be genuinely interested in the role and less likely to drop out late in the process when compensation expectations do not align.
Staying compliant with Ontario’s evolving employment standards while managing day-to-day HR operations is a significant challenge for any growing business. Pivotal Solutions provides HR management, payroll management, PEO services, and EOR solutions that help businesses across Canada and the United States stay ahead of legislative changes without losing momentum on the things that matter most, finding great people and running a great business.
If you are not sure whether your job postings meet Ontario’s new requirements, contact Pivotal Solutions today. Our team will review your current practices, identify the gaps, and help you build a compliant hiring process that protects your business and attracts better candidates.
