Stronger protections for job seekers, clearer rules for honest employers, and real teeth for enforcement.
After three solid weeks of writing and rewrites, the TJAAA just got a full rewrite and redressed into the HOLC-style (that’s the House Office of the Legislative Counsel approach to structure and clarity). It’s tighter, clearer, and more practical — without losing any bite against ghost jobs.
Clear Intent-to-Hire standard with evidence rules and a new 4-day prompt-withdrawal safe harbor for unforeseen business changes.
Stronger privacy + AI protections: applicants own their materials; limited-use license only; explicit opt-in for AI model training; rules for public vs. private online profiles (no scraping private spaces).
Cleaner compliance for honest employers: tiered notifications, right-sized public reporting, and practical recordkeeping keyed to a new PRK (Hiring-Org ID + PPRC).
Real recourse: a robust Private Right of Action, no forced arbitration, and a victim-first restitution fund with whistleblower awards.
Phased rollout so everyone can implement this right.
What’s new (at a glance)
1) Intent to Hire — clarity and fairness.
We define objective signals of real hiring activity and add an affirmative defense: if a role genuinely disappears and the posting is pulled within 4 days (with required notices), there’s no civil penalty for that scenario.
2) Applicant materials = your property.
Resumes, portfolios, code samples, and similar materials remain owned by the applicant. Employers and vendors get a narrow license to use them only for the posted role — plus an opt-in (not default) if they want to train AI on them, with purge timelines and de-identification.
3) Online profiles, separated.
Public profiles (e.g., LinkedIn you share): snapshot rules, no scraping/embedding, copy-back on adverse action.
Private/membership-only spaces (Discords, private groups, dating apps): bright-line no to access, scraping, or pretexting; strict vendor attestations and prompt-purge on notice.
4) Smarter posting & transparency.
Standardized, DOL-defined fields and taxonomies: funding status, contingent status, position class (new/replacement/existing), vacancy period, compensation details, and an AI/ATS/AEDT use matrix — all keyed to a unique PRK = Hiring-Org Identifier + PPRC so postings can’t be disguised by copy-pasting across platforms.
5) Notifications & reporting that scale.
We replaced “read-receipt + postal affidavit for everything” with tiered delivery standards (routine, status, legal-impact) and thresholded public reporting (quarterly or annual), with small-employer accommodations. Records/retention are clearer, audit-ready, and aligned to the PRK.
6) Enforcement with teeth.
Private Right of Action (class-action enabled), no forced arbitration, plaintiff-friendly venue.
Privacy penalties: $10,000 per applicant per unauthorized disclosure plus $5,000 every 30 days it goes unacknowledged.
TJAAA Enforcement & Restitution Fund pays victims first; whistleblower awards (10–30%) encourage reporting.
7) Phased timeline.
Effective in 90 days, with staged agency enforcement and penalties to give good-faith actors time to comply.
Why this matters
Ghost jobs waste time, money, and dignity. The HOLC rewrite gives workers clarity and leverage — while giving honest employers clear rules, practical defenses, and simpler compliance.
Get involved
Read the latest draft at TruthInJobAds.org (new PDF and section summaries coming).
Add your voice: please sign and share the petition: https://www.change.org/StopGhostJobs
Contact us if you’re an employer, recruiter, platform, or policymaker ready to collaborate on implementation.
Together, we can make job postings mean what they say.
