As previewed in our December 2024 article addressing the then‑anticipated job posting measures, beginning January 1, 2026 Ontario employers face significant new obligations affecting how jobs are advertised. These changes arise from the Working for Workers legislative package and related regulations under the Employment Standards Act, 2000 and apply to employers with 25 or more employees. The updates are designed to promote pay transparency, fairness in hiring and clarity for applicants and new employees.
Scope
The new job posting obligations apply to a “publicly advertised job posting”, defined as an external job posting that an employer (or a person acting on the employer’s behalf) advertises to the general public in any manner. This definition excludes general recruitment campaigns that do not advertise a specific position, generic “help wanted” notices, postings limited to existing employees, and postings where the work is to be performed: (i) outside Ontario, or (ii) outside Ontario and in Ontario where the out-of-province work is not a continuation of work performed in Ontario.
Requirements Effective January 1, 2026: Public Job Postings
Beginning January 1, 2026, employers with 25 or more employees must incorporate several mandatory disclosures into all publicly advertised job postings, while also observing new prohibitions and recordkeeping rules.
First, employers must disclose the expected compensation or a range of expected compensation in the posting. Where a range is provided, the difference between the top and bottom figures may not exceed $50,000 annually. Notably, the pay disclosure requirement does not apply to postings where the expected annual compensation exceeds $200,000 or where the upper end of a posted pay range is more than $200,000. Employers should carefully consider how they articulate compensation to preserve recruiting flexibility while ensuring compliance with the range-width cap and the high-compensation exemptions.
