Legal Problems Concerning Health Discrimination in Employment

Year 2003 was regarded by the Chinese media as a year of antidiscrimination by hepatitis virus B (HVB) carriers. The series of events that happened in the year aroused the attention of the whole society to show concern for discrimination against HVB carriers. On April 3, a murder case occurred in Zhejiang Province; on November 20, 1,611 citizens put their signatures to a proposals, demanding review of the provisions on public servant recruitment that bar HVB carriers in 31 provinces and cities and calling for laws to protect HVB carriers. The signed proposal was delivered to the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, the Ministry of Health and the Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council. In December, the people’s court in Xinwu District of Wuhu City in Anhui officially accepted the case of the first HVB carrier against the personnel bureau of

International Forum on Gender Discrimination in Employment

On August 21, 2006, an international forum was held in Beijing on gender discrimination in employment and possible mechanisms for relief. More than 50 experts attended the forum organized by the Department of Law of China Women＇s University （CWU） and the CWU Center for Study of Human Rights for women. They were from the Renmin University of China, Harvard University of the United States and other prestigious institutions of higher learning, the United Nations Development Program, the United Nations Women＇s Development Fund, as well as China＇s Supreme People＇s Court, the Beijing Municipal Women＇s Federation and the Beijing Municipal Federation of Trade Unions. Topics of debate included the importance of eliminating gender discrimination in employment and the criteria for its affirmation, how serious the problem is in China and factors that make it possible for it to exist, sex harassment at worksites and the hazards such malpractices may cause, legislative and judicial methods used in foreign countries to counter gender discrimination in employment and the relevant mechanisms for relief, and China＇s legislative and judicial measures against gender discrimination in emolovment.

Dilemma and Solution for Relief in the Right to Equal Employment-From the Perspective of Rectifying Private Law with Social Law

At present,the legal remedies in terms of the right to equal employment in China are mainly related to private law,that is,laborers seek direct legal remedies for personality rights liability and infringement liability according to typical private law,supplemented by indirect remedies for labor contract liability under special private law.However,there are many challenges in private law remedies for the right to equal employment,which are manifested in the misunderstanding of the general tort identification of employment discrimination,the loopholes in the regulations on discriminatory employment,the imbalance in the burden of proof,and the limitation and alienation of the functions of civil liability and private law autonomy.The root of those problems lies in the fact that the nature of anti-employment discrimination law is not private law but social law.Equal employment involves both public and private interests,and it should be based on the public interest of society and adhere to the value orientation of prioritizing fairness while taking into account efficiency.Improving the legal relief mechanism for protecting the right to equal employment,with a focus on correcting private law with social law,is the solution to the dilemma.Specific measures include establishing the special tort liability system for equal employment,the legal mechanism against discriminatory labor contracts,the public-private integrated legal responsibility system,and an essentially fair system for the responsibility of adducing evidence.

Legal Guarantee for the Elderly’s Right to Work——A Comparative Analysis Based on Age Discrimination in the Employment Act

In the context of the deepening of the population aging,many countries have begun to rectify age discrimination in labor and employment to ensure that the elderly enjoy equal and adequate right to work.In accordance with relevant laws and regulations,the legal norms of age discrimination in employment are highly similar in different countries.Yet,there are differences in exemption clauses and legal relief.So far,three major regulatory modes have taken shape respectively in the United States,europe and Japan.China still lags behind in legislation against age discrimination in employment,so extraterritorial governance experiences should be taken for reference to promote relevant legislation based on intergenerational solidarity and cooperation in a timely manner,so as to provide a legal guarantee for the elderly on the right to work and the handling of population aging.China should also use human rights discourse to summarize and express its own solutions and take an active part in the process of signing the international instruments on human rights specialized for the elderly.