Don’t Discriminate Against Hubei Workers, Supreme Court Warns

China’s highest court is urging employers not to discriminate against workers from the central Hubei province, the region hardest-hit by the country’s COVID-19 outbreak.

In a meeting Thursday, the Supreme People’s Court said workplace discrimination against people from Hubei must be prohibited, and employers arbitrarily rejecting applicants from Hubei, or dismissing staff from the province, must be “resolutely corrected in accordance with the law.”

Earlier this week, the court also released a guideline on civil cases related to the coronavirus. It said lower courts should not support employers’ claims of dismissing workers for coronavirus-related reasons, including people who test positive for the disease, were quarantined, or hail from coronavirus hot spots.

In a high-profile case of “geographic discimination” last November, a court in the eastern Zhejiang province ruled against a resort company that had rejected an applicant solely because she was from the central Henan province. (Image: People Visual)