Dive Brief:
- A bill passed June 2 by New York state lawmakers aims to crack down on “ghost jobs” — jobs that don’t exist or aren’t intended to be filled — by requiring employers with 100 or more employees and third-party job posting platforms to disclose if, and when, hiring is expected.
- Specifically, under S8877, if the job is intended to be filled in 90 days or less, the print ad or digital post must state in bold, capital letters: “This position is for a current vacancy, and the employer intends to fill this position by (date).” If the job is intended to be filled in more than 90 days, the ad or post must state in bold, capital letters that the job is not for a current vacancy and is intended to be filled “no sooner than (date).”
- If there is no expectation the job will be filled, the ad or post must state in bold, capital letters: “This position is not for a current vacancy, but the employer is seeking resumes to review in the future when jobs become available.” The bill is awaiting delivery to Gov. Kathy Hochul.
Dive Insight:
Notably, S8877 also requires employers to remove a digital post or print ad within two weeks of filling the job. Similarly, third parties have two weeks from the time they learn a job was filled to remove the posting.
The penalties are steep: $2,500 for each print ad or digital post that doesn’t comply with the bill’s requirements. This would increase to $5,000 if the violation isn’t corrected within 30 days, and the amount doubles for every subsequent 30 days the ad or post is noncompliant.
Companies advertise ghost jobs for various reasons, according to an April 2025 report from the Congressional Research Services, a nonpartisan arm of the Library of Congress. For example, companies may want to evaluate a potential pool of candidates, signal to existing employees that they are replaceable or attract potential investors by suggesting the company is growing, the report said.
Ghost jobs can also result from third-party online job boards automatically copying postings from other websites, CRS added.
A recent report from MyPerfectResume highlights how pervasive the problem is. The platform found that nearly 1 in 3 U.S. job listings don’t result in an actual hire, creating a “ghost job economy” with multiple ramifications, including wasting job seekers’ time.
The problem also means policymakers may be relying on distorted data about the labor market because the latter has long been measured by the number of job openings, and ghost jobs don’t accurately reflect this, MyPerfectResume noted.
Additionally, employers face an increasing risk of liability as a growing number of states consider legislation prohibiting ghost job postings.
Among them, the Pennsylvania Ghost Job Postings Prevention Act (HB2321), introduced March 26, would require employers to clarify in job postings whether the position is for an existing, anticipated or new role; an estimated timeframe for filling the job; the intended hire and start dates; and the extent to which artificial intelligence will be used in hiring.
A New Jersey bill, S2136, also was introduced in May that would require employers to include in a job posting if the posting is for an existing position as well as other posting requirements.
There are no federal bills pending, the CRS report said. But the grassroots Truthinjobads.org is advocating for its proposed law, the Truth in Job Advertising and Accountability Act, to be introduced in Congress. The TJAAA would set federal standards for transparency and accountability in job postings and prohibit fake or misleading job ads, according to the group’s website.