What a job posting must disclose in 2026: pay, AI use and whether the job is real

Job postings used to be marketing. In a growing number of places they are now also disclosures. Since 1 January 2026, most Ontario employers with 25 or more employees must state the pay, whether they use AI to screen applicants, and whether the job is an existing vacancy, and must tell interviewed applicants within 45 days whether a decision has been made. Several U.S. states require pay ranges, and some require notice when AI is used in hiring.

This article sets out what the main rules say, as of 12 October 2026, and gives you a checklist that meets the strictest of them. That is usually the simplest approach if you hire in more than one place.

This is not legal advice. Each rule has thresholds, exceptions and definitions that decide whether it applies to you. Check the official source linked for each one, and ask an employment lawyer about your situation.

Ontario: the most complete set of rules

Ontario’s Employment Standards Act requirements for publicly advertised job postings apply to postings made on or after 1 January 2026 by employers with 25 or more employees on the day the posting goes up. The count is people, not full-time equivalents, and includes every Ontario location.

A posting must include:

• Expected pay, or a pay range. A range can be no wider than $50,000 a year. Postings where the pay or the top of the range is over $200,000 a year are exempt. If pay includes a commission or a bonus tied to performance, say so; you don’t need to give the full structure.
• A statement on AI. If you use artificial intelligence to screen, assess or select applicants, the posting must say so. A plain statement is enough; you don’t need to describe the system. This applies if a recruiter does the screening for you, too.
• Whether a vacancy exists. Say either that the posting is for an existing vacancy (a position “imminently available” to fill) or that it isn’t.

A posting must not require Canadian experience, including Canadian work experience, Canadian education or an established Canadian network or client base. Professional licensing requirements are still allowed.

After an interview, you must tell the applicant whether a hiring decision has been made, within 45 days of their last interview. A quick call to confirm minimum qualifications counts as preliminary screening, not an interview.

You must keep a copy of every posting, including each revised version and any linked pages, and of the notices to interviewed applicants, for three years.

The rules don’t apply to internal-only postings, to “we’re hiring” signs and campaigns that don’t name a specific position, or to work done outside Ontario.

Pay ranges in other jurisdictions

Pay transparency in postings is now common. A few of the rules, from the official guidance for each:

Jurisdiction	Who is covered	What the posting needs
British Columbia	All employers with employees in B.C., except federally regulated ones	Expected wage or salary, or a range (guidance)
California	Employers with 15 or more employees	Pay scale, for any job that may be filled in California, including remotely (FAQ)
Illinois	Employers with 15 or more employees	Pay scale and benefits, for postings made or republished from 1 January 2025 (FAQ)
New York State	Employers with four or more employees	Compensation range; say if the job is commission-based (guidance)
Washington	Employers with 15 or more employees	Wage scale or salary range, plus a general description of benefits and other compensation (guidance)

Other states and several cities have their own versions. The details differ: some count employees anywhere, some only locally; some require benefits, some don’t; some cover remote jobs that could be filled from that state. If you post remote roles, assume a strict jurisdiction’s rule may reach you.

Across the guidance, open-ended phrasing such as “$40,000 and up”, “up to $60,000” or “competitive” generally doesn’t satisfy a pay-range requirement. Give a real minimum and maximum you’d actually pay.

Telling applicants you use AI

Rules on AI in hiring are newer and less settled than pay rules.

• Ontario: a statement in the posting, as above.
• Illinois: since 1 January 2026, the Illinois Human Rights Act makes it a civil rights violation to use AI in recruitment or hiring in a way that discriminates, or to use zip codes as a proxy for a protected class, and requires employers to give notice when they use AI for those purposes. The state was directed to write rules on how and when to give notice; at the time of writing, those rules have not been finalized.
• Illinois video interviews: under the separate Artificial Intelligence Video Interview Act, an employer that uses AI to analyse recorded video interviews must, before the interview, tell the applicant, explain how the AI works and what it evaluates, and get their consent.
• New York City: an automated employment decision tool needs a bias audit within a year before use, a public summary of the results, and notice to candidates ten business days before use (NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection).
• California: regulations under the state’s Fair Employment and Housing Act, approved in 2025, confirm that an automated-decision system can violate anti-discrimination law and require employers to keep employment records, including automated-decision data, for at least four years (California Civil Rights Council).
• Colorado: the 2024 Colorado AI Act never took effect. In May 2026 it was repealed and replaced by a narrower law on automated decision-making technology that covers employment decisions and includes notice duties (SB26-189). Check the act for when each duty begins.

Even where nothing requires it, telling applicants how their application will be read costs one sentence and answers a question many of them are already asking.

“Is this job real?” rules

Ontario’s vacancy statement is the first rule of its kind in force. Others are coming. New York’s Senate Bill S8877, which passed both houses in 2026, would require employers with 100 or more employees to state in each posting whether it is for a current vacancy and when they intend to fill it, and to take postings down within two weeks of filling them. At the time of writing it had not been signed into law. Our article on ghost jobs covers why applicants have started to doubt postings, and what you can do about it.

A posting checklist that works almost anywhere

Writing every posting to the strictest common standard is simpler than tracking which rule applies to which posting. Our job posting checklist (PDF) puts this on one page:

1. Pay: a real minimum and maximum, no more than $50,000 apart, plus how any commission or bonus is earned.
2. Benefits: a short, general description (health, retirement, paid time off).
3. AI: one plain sentence on whether you use AI to screen, assess or select applicants, and what a person still decides.
4. Vacancy: “This posting is for an existing vacancy”, or say that it isn’t, and why (for example, building a pool for a role opening in spring).
5. Requirements: no Canadian-experience requirement; no requirement you wouldn’t actually screen on. See how to write must-haves.
6. What happens next: when applicants should expect to hear from you.
7. Records: save a copy of every version, including linked pages, and keep it for at least three years.
8. After interviews: tell each interviewed applicant whether a decision has been made within 45 days.

Example wording, adapted to your own process:

Pay: $62,000–$74,000 a year, plus extended health and dental and a 3% RRSP match. This posting is for an existing vacancy. We use AI software to check each application against the requirements below; a person reviews every recommendation and makes every decision. We’ll reply to every applicant within two weeks of the closing date.

Where SortTheStack fits

SortTheStack uses AI to read applications against your requirements, so if you use it for an Ontario posting and have 25 or more employees, your posting needs the AI statement. Every outcome comes with the evidence behind it, and a person makes each decision. Applicants are set aside automatically only by knockout rules you write, or by an optional setting, off by default, that lets the AI set aside clear mismatches. When you close a job, it sends a neutral “decision made” notice to applicants in the Interviewing stage. If the job is still open 45 days after someone’s last interview, you still need to tell them yourself whether a decision has been made, and you should keep your own copy of every version of each posting. See how the screening works.

Sources

All accessed 12 October 2026.

• Ontario Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development, Requirements related to publicly advertised job postings.
• Government of British Columbia, Guidance on wage or salary information on job postings.
• California Labor Commissioner, California Equal Pay Act and pay transparency FAQ.
• Illinois Department of Labor, Equal Pay Act pay transparency FAQ.
• New York State Department of Labor, Pay transparency.
• Washington State Department of Labor & Industries, Equal Pay and Opportunities Act.
• Illinois Human Rights Act, 775 ILCS 5/2-102(L), as amended by Public Act 103-0804, ilga.gov.
• Artificial Intelligence Video Interview Act, 820 ILCS 42, ilga.gov.
• NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, Automated employment decision tools.
• California Civil Rights Council, Regulations to protect against employment discrimination related to artificial intelligence, 30 June 2025.
• Colorado General Assembly, SB26-189, Automated Decision-Making Technology.
• New York State Senate, S8877 (2025–2026 session).