Recently, Bill 149, also known as the Working for Workers Four Act, 2023, received royal accent, making changes to the Employment Standards Act. Therefore, it applies only to provincially regulated employers. One of the more notable changes that it made was its new requirements for when Employers create a “publicly advertised job posting.”

What “publicly advertised job posting” means is not yet clear, as it will likely be defined in a future regulation. However, using the common understanding of “publicly advertised job posting” it would mean any call for potential employees to apply for a job listed on sites like Indeed, LinkedIn, or even Facebook. Employers should keep a broad interpretation of “publicly advertised job posting” as the new legislation requires that they retain all such postings for at least three years after they take down the job posting.

Employers will be required to add a compensation range to their job postings. What is a reasonable range is also not yet clear, as it will likely be defined further in future regulations. However, for employers, it is probably best to give a range that is consistent with what other employees in their workforce are earning in the same position. This range should also be consistent with the set minimum wage, which, as of writing this blog, the general minimum wage is set at $16.55 per hour, but it will increase to $17.20 per hour on October 1, 2024.

Employers are not allowed to add in the job posting that potential employees need Canadian experience as a requirement to get the job. Employers can still request that employees have experience in the relevant field that they are seeking to hire for, they just have to accept experience outside of Canada. This is not really a big change, as employers could have already faced a discrimination case if they required only Canadian experience. For example, in Imperial Oil Limited v Haseeb (2023 ONCA 364), the employer was held liable to damages for $130,000 for discrimination for requiring that job applicants be Canadian citizens or permanent residents.

Employers who will use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to screen, assess or select applicants for the position, must indicate that they plan to do so in the job posting. Despite this requirement, I would recommend that employers do not use AI in their hiring process. AI could be manipulated by using copy-and-pasted buzz words that leave out genuine applications that potential employees took the time to write for sloppy copy-and-pasted applications. AI is also known to lie, which is referred to as hallucinations, which may misrepresent what is actually included in the relevant job applications. Finally, since AI has been proven to include structural human rights biases, an employer using AI to screen employees may face a human rights complaint with little evidence of the AI’s training data to defend themselves with.

How Suzanne Desrosiers Professional Corporation can help

At Suzanne Desrosiers Professional Corporation, we have employment lawyers who are knowledgeable with the Employment Standards Act and the amendments that have been made to it. To speak to one of our employment lawyers, please call us at 705-268-6492 or email us at info@sdlawtimmins.com.