英语新闻︱新冠肺炎康复者不该遭受就业歧视

英语新闻︱新冠肺炎康复者不该遭受就业歧视

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

上海市政府要求各部门、各单位都应一视同仁地对待新冠阳性康复者，不得歧视。

"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.

在7月11日举行的上海市新冠肺炎疫情防控工作新闻发布会上，市政府新闻发言人尹欣强调：“社会各界应该对新冠阳性康复者给予更多的关心关爱，不能给他们贴标签，不在他们的工作生活中设槛，不能让他们生活在不该有的阴影下。”

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.

彭湃（音译）夫妇非常认同这一举措。今年4月，彭湃夫妇确诊了新冠，并住进方舱医院接受治疗。彭湃说，6月份重返工作岗位后，老板和同事并没有区别对待自己，因此十分感激。

"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."

“老板并不介意我感染过新冠，他说应该科学看待疫情，而不是恐慌。”彭湃说，“我们应该公平对待他人，因为类似的事情也有可能会发生在我们身上。”

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.

但并不是每个人都这么幸运。彭湃说，他在群聊中询问过此前确诊的病人有无遇到就业歧视的问题，一些人说他们在求职时屡屡碰壁，另外一些人则遭到了原单位的解雇。彭湃的妻子在服务行业工作，也因为害怕受到歧视，隐瞒了新冠感染史。

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.

北京市京师（上海）律师事务所律师吴风虎表示，根据《传染病防治法》和《就业促进法》，歧视患有新冠肺炎的员工或求职者属违法行为。

"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."

“因新冠肺炎被解雇的员工可以起诉公司，要求公司赔偿并重新聘用。”吴风虎律师提到，“求职者面临着更为微妙的挑战，因为很难以歧视为由对用人单位提起诉讼。我国亟须建立更为严格的监管体系来保障员工的权益。”

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

律师和学者则建议通过保护患者的个人信息来停止这种歧视。

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.

7月初，上海交通大学安泰经济管理学院特聘教授陆铭建议，健康码应不再显示一个月之前核酸检测的信息。“这可以从源头上掐断歧视。”陆铭教授说。

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.

中国政法大学民商经济法学院教授王显勇在接受《法治日报》采访时表示，医疗健康属于敏感个人信息，用人单位无权要求求职者提供。

"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.

王显勇认为：“医疗健康信息不属于与劳动合同直接相关的基本信息。只有在具有特定的目的和充分的必要性，并采取严格保护措施的情形下，个人信息处理者方可处理敏感个人信息。”

discrimination

英[dɪˌskrɪmɪˈneɪʃn]；美[dɪˌskrɪmɪˈneɪʃn]

n. 区别对待;鉴别力;区别

cold shoulder

英[kəuld ˈʃəuldə]；美[kold ˈʃoldɚ]

n. <俗>冷淡，轻视;碰一鼻子灰

rigorous

英[ˈrɪɡərəs]；美[ˈrɪɡərəs]

adj. 严密的;缜密的;严格的;枯燥的