$50,000, 45 Days, and 3 Years:What Ontario's Job Posting Rules Actually Require of Dealers

Ontario's new job posting requirements took effect January 1, 2026. If your dealership has 25 or more employees, every publicly advertised posting now has to show expected compensation, disclosewhether you use AI to screen applicants, state whether the role is a real vacancy, and leave out any Canadian experience requirement. You also have totell everyone you interviewed whether a decision was made, within 45 days.

Nine months in, most of the mechanics are settled. The part that still causes arguments in dealerships is pay: how do you publish a range for a job where half the money is commission?

Which dealerships do these rules apply to?

Any Ontario employer with 25 or more employeeson the day the posting goes up. Count employees, not rooftops. A three-store group with 140 people is covered. A single point with 18 is not — until ithires its 25th.

The rules cover "publicly advertised job postings," which Ontario defines as an external posting advertised to the general public in any manner. That is your careers page, Indeed, Facebook, thesign in the service drive, and the post your GM puts on LinkedIn. Internal-only postings and direct recruiting sit outside it.

How do you post a pay range when the job is commission?

You post the expected compensation, and where the package includes more than one type of pay, you describe each type. If you give a range, Ontario caps it: no wider than $50,000 a year. The requirement drops away only where expected compensation is more than $200,000 annually.

For a dealership, that rules out"commission, unlimited earning potential." A salesperson on draw plus commission plus volume bonus has three types of pay, and the posting hat o describe all three.

What works:

•     Name the guarantee. "$3,000/month draw for the first 90 days" is a fact, not a promise.

•     Keep th range inside $50,000. "$65,000–$95,000on plan" is compliant. "$50,000–$150,000" is not.

•     Describe the structure briefly. Commission percentage or per-unit amount, bonus triggers, and what is guaranteed versus variable.

•     Say what"on plan" assumes. Ten units a month reads very differently from twenty.

The $50,000 ceiling is the constraint dealers feel most. A wide-open range used to be the way to avoid committing to a number. It is not available anymore.

What is the 45-day rule?

If you interview someone for a publicly advertised posting, you have to tell them whether a hiring decision was made, within 45 days of the interview. In person, by phone, by email, or by mail.

This one lives outside the posting, which is why it slips. A service manager interviews six techs, hires one, and the other five hear nothing. That is a compliance gap, and it is the cheapest one to close: a templated email, sent the day the offer is accepted.

Keep the paperwork. You have to retain a copy of every posting and its associated application form for three years after the posting comes down.

Do you have to disclose AI screening?

Yes, if you use it. Every publicly advertised posting needs a statement disclosing whether you use artificial intelligence to screen, assess, or select applicants.

Most dealers assume this does not apply to them. Check your ATS. If your job board auto-ranks applicants, scores knockout questions with a model, or surfaces "top matches," you are using AI to screen, even if you never switched it on, and even if a human makes the final call. Ask your vendor in writing what the tool does, then write one line into your posting template.

What else changed?

Two more requirements, both one-liners in the posting:

1.   Existing vacancy. Every posting must state whether it is for a real, current opening. The evergreen "always accepting applications for Sales Consultants" posting needs that disclosure.

2.   No Canadian experience. You cannot require Canadian experience in the posting or in the application form. For dealerships hiring newcomer technicians, this is a hard prohibition, not a guideline.

What does a compliant dealership posting look like?

Take a Service Advisor role at an Ontario store. The old posting said "competitive salary plus bonus." The new one says:

Service Advisor: Full-time, existing vacancy

Expected compensation: $62,000–$88,000 per year on plan. Base salary $48,000, plus a monthly performance bonus based onCSI and hours-per-RO targets. Figures reflect the current plan at an average of90 flagged hours per month.

We use an applicant tracking system that automatically ranks applicants based on their responses to screening questions.

We contact every candidate we interview with a decision within 45 days.

Same job. Same pay. It just says out loud what it is, and you stop burning interview slots on people who were never going to accept a $48,000 base.

Key takeaways

•     The rules apply to Ontario employers with 25 or more employees on the day the postinggoes up, counted across the business, not per rooftop.

•     A published pay range can be no wider than $50,000 a year, and the requirement falls away only above $200,000 in expected annual compensation.

•     Commission plans are not exempt. Where a package has multiple types of pay, the posting describes each one.

•     Every interviewed candidate gets a decision within 45 days, and postings plus application forms are kept for three years.

•     If your ATS ranks or filters applicants automatically, you are using AI to screen, and you have to say so.

Most of this is a template problem, not a policy problem. Fix the posting template once, add the 45-day note to your hiring checklist, and the compliance side largely takes care of itself. The harder question, what your pay plans actually pay, in writing, to a stranger, is the one worth a management meeting.

HR4 clients post from templates built for these rules. If yours still say "competitive salary," that is the place to start.

FAQS

Do Ontario job posting rules apply to car dealerships?

Yes. The Employment Standards Act requirements that took effect January 1, 2026 apply to any Ontario employer with 25 or more employees on the day a publicly advertised job posting goes up.Employees are counted across the business, not per rooftop, so most dealer groups and many single-point stores are covered.

How do you post a pay range for a commission-based dealership job?

Post the expected compensation and describe every type of pay in the package, base or draw, commission, and bonus. If you give a range, it can be no wider than $50,000 a year. The requirement does not apply where expected compensation is more than $200,000 annually.

Q3. What is the 45-day rule in Ontario job postings?

Employers must tell every applicant they interviewed for a publicly advertised posting whether a hiring decision was made, within 45 days of the interview. Contact can be in person, by phone, by email or by mail. Postings and application forms must be kept for three years.