Client Alert
Atlanta City Council Passes Broad Anti-Discrimination Ordinance
May 01, 2001
Lawrence Ashe, Leslie Dent, Kelly Koelker and Regan Greene
A little talked-about new law may require employers and businesses in Atlanta to rewrite their personnel, training, and other operating procedures. On December 4, 2000, the Atlanta City Council overwhelmingly approved amendments to the City code that impose on employers and others doing business in Atlanta new anti-discrimination rules that are much broader than the familiar prohibitions of Title VII, the ADEA, and the ADA. Under the new ordinance, which was signed by Mayor Bill Campbell and took effect on December 12, 2000, it is illegal to discriminate in employment, public accommodations, and housing not only on the basis of race, sex, religion, national origin, and age, but also on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, parental or familial status, and domestic relationship status.