Government strictly prohibits COVID-based job discrimination

The central government has released an urgent notice on Monday evening prohibiting any prejudice against recovered COVID-19 patients in the job market.

The notice, jointly released by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and the National Health Commission, clarified employers and human resources agencies are prohibited from refusing to hire job-seekers with the excuse of them having tested positive for COVID-19. Dismissing recovered COVID patients with this reason is also banned.

The notice said the surging problem of discriminating against recovered patients has severely encroached people's working rights and the fairness of the job market. To better protect people's privacy, companies or individuals are not allowed to check up other people's COVID-19 test results.

Also, employers and recruitment platforms are not allowed to include any discriminatory information in their listings — for example, information indicating people who have tested positive for COVID-19 won't be recruited.

According to the notice, the two central departments will enhance supervision over these illegal behaviors and malpractice of local authorities. Employers violating the regulation will be heavily punished, such as having their names publicized or fined with administrative penalties.