A college graduate from the central province of Anhui has successfully filed what is believed to be China’s first HIV employment discrimination lawsuit. The plaintiff, known by his pseudonym Xiao Wu, filed an anti-discrimination lawsuit in the Yingjiang District Court in Anqing on 26 August after the Anqing education department denied him a teaching position because he was HIV positive. The court formally accepted the case on Monday August 30.

A 25 year-old university graduate with Hepatitis B has, for the first time in China, successfully sued a hospital for violating his right to privacy after it gave the results of his blood test to a prospective employer.

BEIJING - CHINA will stop mandatory hepatitis B tests for employees joining new companies and students enrolling in schools, state media said on Sunday, after a court ruled the tests were illegal discrimination. Deng Haihua, deputy director of the health ministry's general office, said the government would soon issue instructions to stop the practice, which is currently a requirement, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

On 23 May 2008, a Beijing district court awarded Gao Yiming nearly 20,000 yuan in compensation after he was refused employment at a Beijing technology company on the grounds that he was carrying the Hepatitis B virus (HBV). This was the first time a HBV discrimination case had been successfully litigated in China. Earlier cases had been successfully concluded through court ordered mediation or through private agreements between the plaintiff and defendant.

A Dongguan court on 22 October 2008 ruled against a plaintiff who was seeking 500,000 yuan in psychological damages after being refused employment at Nokia (China) because of his Hepatitis B (HBV) status. However, key evidence was not heard by the court.

The 18 June award of over 57,000 yuan in compensation to an employee unfairly dismissed from computer giant IBM’s Shanghai subsidiary because of his medical condition is a landmark ruling in China.
 
Not only is it the first time a labour dispute arbitration committee (LDAC) has ruled in an employment discrimination case based on depression, but the publicity generated because of the high-profile defendant has highlighted the issue of mental illness and the intense pressure felt by many employees in China’s hi-tech industries.

A long running and highly publicized Hepatitis B discrimination case concluded on 2 April 2008 after a court ordered mediation awarded the plaintiff “satisfactory” compensation for loss of potential earnings and emotional damages after his offer of employment was withdrawn because of his HBV status. 
CLB cannot reveal the exact amount of compensation because the Shanghai Intermediate Court, in its civil ruling No.4302, placed a gagging order on the plaintiff, Chen Long (pseudonym), and his legal representative.

Under the cloak of secrecy, a foreign-owned electronics company in China has agreed to pay three former workers a total of what is believed to be 250,000 yuan in compensation for unfair dismissal.
 

In a landmark ruling on 3 January, the Dongguan Municipal People’s Court, ordered the Hong Kong-owned Vtech corporation to pay 24,000 yuan in compensation to a job applicant it had refused employment on the grounds that he carried the Hepatitis B Virus (HBV).
 

The Ministry of Labour and Social Security has issued new regulations designed to combat discrimination against migrant workers, women and people living the Hepatitis B Virus (HBV), and crackdown o . . .