COVID cases deserve equality

Shanghai govt says recovered patients shouldn't face discrimination at work

The Shanghai government has told all local government departments and companies to treat people who have recovered from COVID-19 equally and without discrimination.

"Society should give them more care and love, rather than label them or set barriers in their work and life and make them live in the shadows," city spokeswoman Yin Xin said at a news conference on Monday.

Peng Pai and his wife couldn't agree more. The couple were diagnosed with COVID-19 and received treatment in a temporary hospital in April. Peng said he felt grateful that his boss and colleagues didn't treat him differently when he returned to work in June.

"My boss said he didn't mind that I had been infected, and that we should base our judgment on science rather than fear," Peng said. "We should treat everyone fairly because anyone may face a similar situation one day."

Yet not everyone is as lucky. Peng said that when he asked about employment discrimination in a group chat for previous patients, some said they had been given cold shoulders in the job market and some said they were asked not to return to the workplace. Even his wife, for example, who works in the service industry, chose to hide her infection history for fear of discrimination.

Wu Fenghu, a lawyer with Beijing Jingshi Law Firm, said discrimination against employees or job hunters who have had COVID-19 was illegal, according to the Law on Prevention and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, and the Employment Promotion Law.

"Employees being fired for COVID-19 can sue the company, asking for compensation and to be rehired," Wu said. "The challenge faced by job seekers is more subtle because it's hard to file such a case for discrimination. It is certain that a stricter and more rigorous supervision system should be built by our country to protect employees' rights in the future."

Some lawyers and scholars suggested stopping such discrimination through the protection of patients' private information.

Lu Ming, an economics professor at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, said in a proposal to the government earlier in July that the health code should stop showing nucleic acid test results older than one month. "It can break the discrimination at the source," Lu said.

Wang Xianyong, a professor at China University of Political Science and Law, echoed Lu's opinion in an interview with Legal Daily that health history is sensitive personal information that employers have no right to ask job seekers to provide.

"Health records are not basic information needed for signing a labor contract, and health information can only be used under strict protection and in cases of specific purpose and necessity," Wang said.