Ontario's job posting rules for recruiters and staffing agencies

• A posting you advertise for a client is a publicly advertised job posting, the same as one the client publishes itself (O. Reg. 476/24, s. 2 (1)).
• The Ministry's guide says that when a third party or a job board carries a posting, the employer is responsible for making sure the requirements are followed (Ministry's guide).
• In practice, clients will expect what you publish for them to meet the rules. Agree who checks each posting before it goes up.

• The rules don't apply to an employer with fewer than 25 employees on the day the job is posted (O. Reg. 476/24, s. 1).
• The Ministry's guide counts a temporary help agency's assignment employees toward the agency's total, not the client's (Ministry's guide).
• When you recruit for a client's own job, whether the client's size is the one that decides is a point to confirm with an employment lawyer. CheckON looks up the employer named in the posting, and applies the rules when it can't find a size.

• An employer who uses artificial intelligence to screen, assess or select applicants must say so in the posting. The Ministry's guide says this applies equally when a third party, such as a recruiting firm, does the screening for the employer (ESA, s. 8.4 (1); Ministry's guide).
• So if your ATS ranks candidates, or a tool scores resumes or runs a screening chat for a client's job, that client's posting needs the statement. Whether a particular tool counts depends on the facts, the guide says.

Our recruiting partner uses artificial intelligence to screen, assess or select applicants for this position.

More on AI disclosure

• A general recruitment campaign that doesn't advertise a specific position isn't covered, such as an ad that only says "we are always looking for talent" (O. Reg. 476/24, s. 2 (1) (a); Ministry's guide).
• A posting for a named job is for a specific position, even when you're building a pool for future openings. If there's no existing vacancy, the posting must say so (ESA, s. 8.5 (1) (a); Ministry's guide), for example: "This posting is not for an existing vacancy. We're collecting applications for future openings."

More on the vacancy statement

• The ban on Canadian experience requirements covers the posting "or any associated application form" (ESA, s. 8.3 (1)). Check the screening questions in your ATS, not only the ad.
• Professional licensing and registration requirements are allowed, the Ministry's guide says.

More on Canadian experience

• Within 45 days of an applicant's interview, or of the last one, the employer must tell them whether a hiring decision has been made, and keep the posting, its form and that update for three years (ESA, ss. 8.6 and 15; O. Reg. 476/24, s. 5).
• When you run the interviews for a client, agree who sends the update and who keeps the records.

More on the 45-day rule

The facts a posting needs that only the client knows. Send it with each new job order.

Client intake for an Ontario job posting
[ ] Expected pay, or a pay range no wider than $50,000 a year (or confirmation that the pay is above $200,000 a year)
[ ] Is this an existing vacancy, or a pool for future openings?
[ ] Do you, or do we, use AI to screen, assess or select applicants for this job? Which tools?
[ ] How many employees does the employer have in Ontario today?
[ ] Is the job done in Ontario?
[ ] The application form's questions, to check them for Canadian experience requirements
[ ] Who tells interviewed applicants, within 45 days, whether a hiring decision has been made?
[ ] Who keeps the posting, its form and those updates for three years?