Ontario Employment Standards Act, AI disclosure in publicly advertised job postings

What it is

Ontario added rules on publicly advertised job postings to its Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA) through the Working for Workers Four Act, 2024, which received royal assent on 21 March 2024. The details are set by Ontario Regulation 476/24, and the requirements took effect on 1 January 2026. Among them is a duty to disclose the use of artificial intelligence in hiring.

The AI rule is deliberately light. It asks for a statement, not an audit, an explanation or a right to opt out.

Who it applies to

The requirements apply to employers with 25 or more employees on the day a job posting is published. Every employee counts as one, including part-time, casual and probationary staff. Employees at all of the employer’s Ontario locations are added together, as are those of related employers treated as a single employer under the ESA.

They apply to publicly advertised job postings, meaning external postings an employer, or someone acting on its behalf, advertises to the general public in any manner. Excluded are general “we’re hiring” campaigns that do not advertise a specific position, postings open only to existing employees, and positions whose work is performed outside Ontario.

Artificial intelligence is defined as a machine-based system that infers from the input it receives how to generate outputs such as predictions, content, recommendations or decisions. Ontario’s guidance says whether a particular tool qualifies depends on the facts.

What it requires

AI disclosure. If the employer uses AI to screen, assess or select applicants for the position, the posting must say so. A detailed description is not required. The duty applies whether the employer uses the AI itself or a third party such as a recruiter uses it on the employer’s behalf.

Other posting requirements. The same rules require the posting to state the expected compensation or range (unless it is above C$200,000 a year, and with a range no wider than C$50,000), to say whether the posting is for an existing vacancy, and not to require Canadian experience. Employers must tell interviewed applicants whether a hiring decision has been made within 45 days of their last interview.

Records. Employers keep a copy of each posting, any associated application form and every revised version for three years after the posting is taken down, and keep the information given to interviewed applicants for three years.

Enforcement. The requirements are part of the ESA, so they are enforced through its ordinary complaint and inspection process.

Key dates

• 21 March 2024. Working for Workers Four Act, 2024 receives royal assent.
• 1 January 2026. Job posting requirements, including AI disclosure, take effect.

How it relates to other frameworks

Ontario’s rule is the lightest of the AI-in-hiring laws. NYC Local Law 144 requires an independent bias audit and individual notice 10 business days before use. Illinois makes discriminatory effect and missing notice civil rights violations. The EU AI Act treats AI used in recruitment as high-risk. An employer that meets any of those has already done what Ontario asks.

Within Canada, Quebec’s section 12.1 adds notice and review where a hiring decision is based exclusively on automated processing, and human rights codes apply to discriminatory outcomes whatever tool produced them. The Ontario public sector has separate rules under the Strengthening Cyber Security and Building Trust in the Public Sector Act, 2024 and the Responsible Use of Artificial Intelligence Directive.

Putting it into practice

Meeting the rule takes three things. The first is a list of the tools used at each stage of hiring, from job board matching to CV screening, assessments and interview scheduling, noting which ones rank, score or filter applicants. The second is confirmation from each recruiter and platform vendor of whether AI is used on the employer’s behalf, because the duty follows the employer whoever does the screening. The third is a standard sentence in the posting template, so the statement appears on every covered posting and every revised version that has to be kept for three years.

The practical difficulty is knowing whether AI is used at all. Applicant tracking systems and recruitment platforms increasingly rank or filter candidates by default, and an employer can be using AI to screen applicants without having chosen to. The disclosure is only accurate if the employer knows what its hiring tools do.