A person who operates a job posting platform is required to retain, or arrange for some other person to retain, copies of every required written policy on fraudulent publicly advertised job postings for 3 years after the policy stops being in effect.
Enforcement and reporting
The Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development ( MLITSD ) welcomes information about potential non-compliance related to the requirements for publicly advertised job postings.
All information provided by third parties to the ministry about possible violations, including information about job postings, is passed to the appropriate ministry staff for review and appropriate action.
To report potential non-compliance with the requirements for publicly advertised job postings under the ESA , please submit any inquiries to PubliclyAdvertisedJP@ontario.ca . Please ensure the following information is provided:
employer name and contact information
physical address of the business
link to or copy of the job posting
Employers who are found to be in contravention of the ESA can be subject to enforcement action, including monetary penalties or fines. To learn more about the ministry’s enforcement tools, please visit the Enforcement section in the Role of the ministry chapter of this guide.
Violations of the ESA can result in enforcement action
The type of enforcement action that can be taken depends on which provision of the ESA was contravened. Examples include:
a compliance order
a notice of contravention with a monetary penalty
prosecution
An employer or other person who is believed to have committed an offence under the ESA can be prosecuted under Part III of the Provincial Offences Act . It is an offence for an employer or other person to:
contravene the ESA or regulations
make or keep false records or other documents that must be kept under the ESA
provide false or misleading information under the ESA
fail to comply with an order, direction or other requirement under the ESA or regulations
If convicted, the employer or other person could be subject to a fine or a term of imprisonment or both. Individuals, if convicted of an offence, can be fined up to $100,000, imprisoned for up to 12 months, or both.
A corporation can be fined up to $100,000 for a first conviction. If the corporation has already been convicted of an offence under the ESA , it can be fined up to $250,000 for a second conviction. For a third or subsequent conviction, the corporation can be fined up to $500,000.
Complaints about job posting platforms
Note: if you have a complaint about fraudulent publicly advertised job postings, report the fraud to your local police and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre .