"Guangzhou Court Hears HIV Labor Discrimination Case", 22 Dec 2016

On Wednesday, the Baiyun District People’s Court in the southern city of Guangzhou heard the case of an HIV-positive man suing his former employer for discrimination.  This the second legal action that the plaintiff, a 27-year-old man who has asked to be identified as Ming, has brought against the company, a quasi-governmental food inspection organization.  In June, the Guangzhou Labor Personnel Dispute Arbitration Court ruled against Ming’s initial claim challenging his termination.  His employer had cited a defunct 1991 stipulation of the implementation measures for the Law on Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases, requiring the isolation of HIV carriers.  That document was revised in 2004, and the requirement was removed.  Nevertheless, the labor arbitration court ruled that the employer had followed protocol...The company had asked Ming to take indefinite leave and later failed to renew his contract based on the allegation that it was unsafe for someone who is HIV-positive to work with food...According to China’s Regulation on the Prevention and Treatment of HIV/AIDS, adopted in 2006, no entity or individual may discriminate against people with HIV or AIDS...