Man files a lawsuit after being fired due to HIV positive status

The Neijiang municipal court in southwest China's Sichuan Province recently accepted the case of a man who was fired after being confirmed HIV positive and has scheduled a trial to begin on January 25, thepaper.cn reported.

Xie Peng, who lost his job after being confirmed HIV positive, filed a lawsuit in court.[Photo: thepaper.cn]

The Sichuan resident, known as Xie Peng, was fired by his company after being diagnosed as HIV positive in a physical check for new hires. Xie believes that, according to law, the company should double his salary and sign a flexible-term labor contract with him.

Xie submitted an arbitration application on January 11, 2017. In December 2017, the labor arbitration committee of Neijiang ruled that the company should pay Xie double salary for his work term, but it did not uphold the signing of a flexible-term labor contract as the company terminated the contract with Xie on June 9 due to the medical examination. Xie was not satisfied with this result and filed a lawsuit with the court.

According to related regulations, neither companies nor government authorities can force employees to undergo an AIDS test; they must voluntarily agree to do so.

Xie's lawyer, Yu Quan said that his client's work does not require an HIV test, and as the labor relations between Xie and the company still exist, a written labor contract should be signed.