Atlanta bans salary history questions during hiring

Atlanta has removed the salary history question on employment applications in an effort to ensure fair hiring practices.

Studies have shown that on average, women earn 80 cents for every dollar their male counterpart earns. For women of color, the wage gap is even more disparate. Black women on average earn 62 cents for every dollar their white male counterpart earns. For Latinas, the gap is 53 cents for every dollar—or 47 percent less.

“The City of Atlanta has taken a critical step toward the elimination of pay discrimination by removing salary history questions on employment applications,” Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said.

“Too often, salary history can trap employees in an unfair earnings cycle based on history rather than their skill set.”

Mayor Bottoms’ move to remove salary history questions from the City’s hiring practices builds upon Atlanta’s decision to ban a requirement for people with criminal convictions to disclose that information job applications in 2014.