According to an HR Dive article on the legislation, a recent MyPerfectResume analysis found that nearly 1 in 3 U.S. job listings does not result in an actual hire. That means a huge share of people applying for jobs may be spending emotional energy, time, and hope on positions that were never truly open in the first place.
That is not a harmless inefficiency. It is a form of abuse.
For years, some employers have used ghost job postings to serve themselves while pretending to serve others. The HR Dive piece highlights several motives behind the practice. Companies may post these to:
- Evaluate the candidate pool
- Signal to current employees that they are replaceable or
- Create the appearance of growth for investors and the public
In other words, some organizations are using job seekers as market research, psychological leverage, and corporate theater.
Classy.
That’s toxic leadership in practice.
This is exactly the kind of behavior servant leadership should challenge. If you are not serving others, you are self-serving, and that is not leadership. It may be strategy. It may be optics. It may even be common practice. But it is not leadership.
What makes ghost jobs especially damaging is that they hurt more than just individual applicants. Yes, they waste people’s time. Yes, they toy with their hopes. Yes, they can pressure existing employees by subtly reminding them, “Look how easily you could be replaced.” But they also pollute the broader social picture.
When ghost jobs inflate the apparent volume of openings, they can distort labor-market signals that journalists, economists, public officials, and politicians rely on to understand what is actually happening in the economy. If a meaningful share of postings are fake, stale, or never intended to be filled, then the public conversation built on that data becomes less trustworthy too.
So this is not just an employer-versus-applicant issue. It is an honesty issue. A trust issue. A society issue. That’s why this bill matters.
As described by HR Dive, the legislation would require employers with 100 or more employees and third-party job platforms to disclose whether a posting is tied to a current vacancy and when the employer expects to fill it. It would also require filled positions to be removed within two weeks. Employers or platforms that fail to comply could face fines starting at $2,500.
Is that a complete cure? No.
Is it a meaningful step toward accountability? Absolutely.
From a SERVANT-Leadership perspective, several principles stand out here.
Virtuousness: Honesty is not optional
The most obvious principle is Virtuousness. In The Acronym Model of SERVANT-Leadership, Virtuousness includes character, honesty, and purpose. Ghost job postings fail that test. They are dishonest by design. They may help a company posture, test a market, or create leverage, but they do so by misleading real people. Leaders do not get to call themselves strategic while treating truth like a rounding error.
One of the strongest lines in the SERVANT framework is this: “In leadership, a lack of ethics is a lack of competence.” That applies here. If your hiring process depends on deception, the problem is not just your recruiting strategy. The problem is your leadership.
Authenticity: Say what is real
The second relevant principle is Authenticity. Authentic leadership requires transparency, visibility, and alignment between words and actions. If a company publicly acts as though it is hiring while privately knowing the role is not real, that is the opposite of authenticity. It is performative leadership in corporate form.
If a job is exploratory, say that. If it is a pipeline-building role for future needs, say that. If it is contingent, say that. Adults can handle reality. What they should not have to handle is fiction disguised as opportunity.
Empathy: Job seekers are people, not data points
Empathy matters too. Job seekers are not just names in an applicant tracking system. They are people with bills, families, confidence, anxiety, and limited time. Every fake or misleading posting asks someone to spend emotional and practical effort on an illusion.
Servant leadership says leaders must not just listen to understand, but listen to feel. If more executives actually felt what the job search experience is like right now, many of these practices would become indefensible very quickly.
Thoroughness: Think about system-level consequences
The fourth principle that fits this issue is Thoroughness. In the SERVANT model, Thoroughness includes systems thinking, accountability, and foresight. That matters because ghost jobs do not only create individual frustration. They distort systems. They weaken trust in hiring markets. They muddy labor data. They confuse policy discussions. They reward short-term optics at the expense of long-term credibility.
Servant leaders are supposed to prioritize outcomes over optics. Ghost jobs do the reverse.
That is why legislation like this can serve both the job seeker and society. It creates a clearer standard. It raises the cost of deception. It pushes companies toward more honest behavior. And it reminds employers that access to public labor markets comes with public responsibility.
Real leadership does not use people as props. It does not manipulate workers through implied replaceability. It does not inflate growth optics with fake openings. And it certainly does not shrug off the social damage that comes from distorting job-market reality.
Servant leadership starts with service, but it does not stop at good intentions. It requires honesty, empathy, transparency, and accountability.
That is what this bill is trying to enforce when some employers would not choose it on their own.
Which brings us back to a rare statement these days: Politicians may have actually done something useful here. Let’s hope the Governor signs it.
NY Bill Authors:
At time of posting, this is awaiting signature by NY Governor Hochul.
Similar Bill Author in PA (in development):
Source article: https://www.hrdive.com/news/new-york-passed-bill-aimed-at-halting-ghost-jobs/822620/
