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Citing concerns over the wage gap between women and men, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to ban employers from asking job applicants how much money they made in previous positions.
It's an interesting idea - I know that many people, men as well as women, can find it uncomfortable to give their current salary as they feel it can put them at a disadvantage when trying to negotiate a higher starting salary for a new position.
Personally, I think I'd rather see greater transparency, where there is more disclosure so it's harder to justify giving lower salaries to women and minorities if they know what someone else doing the same job is getting. But I guess this is better than nothing.
I like it. If enforced, I think it would also encourage people between jobs to take jobs that pay less as well. That way it won't come back to haunt them when they finally find the permanent job they are looking for.
I don't share my salary history. If I applied for some retail or office job and they asked what I currently make per hour, I'd just laugh. Trust me, you're not going to pay me my current hourly rate to sell books or answer phones!
so? they can ask the employer itself then when they ask for the reference
if people think they can not get hired because of their salary history, they need better skills
Not about not getting hired, it's about the fact that if you've been pigeonholed into a low salary at one employer, when you disclose your current salary to a potential new employer they may low ball you so it keeps perpetuating what may have been a lower salary due to discrimination.
And they cannot ask the previous employer because it will be illegal for them to disclose that information without written permission from the employee.
As if the state doesn't have enough regulation already? The city should stick to collecting the garbage, running the cable cars and teaching the kids; just more political pandering.
Not about not getting hired, it's about the fact that if you've been pigeonholed into a low salary at one employer, when you disclose your current salary to a potential new employer they may low ball you so it keeps perpetuating what may have been a lower salary due to discrimination.
And they cannot ask the previous employer because it will be illegal for them to disclose that information without written permission from the employee.
Yes, this is the issue. I just moved out of FL, where salaries are much lower than where they are in much of the rest of the country. It is not particularly gender based, but in SF, you do have a lot of people moving from other states/areas where the salary offered is almost always going to seem like a huge increase compared to what they were getting before. If you are lowballed at the start, then you are never going to catch up.
I don't think a company in SF should be offering a person from Orlando less than the person from NYC just because the NYC person's salary was higher before. OBVIOUSLY the NYC person's salary would be higher in a comparable position because NYC has a higher cost of living. What should matter is the caliber of the company, nature of the duties performed, and the overall level of responsibility.
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