Job applicants rejected by disciplinary forces because of a family history of mental illness have threatened to take their cases to court with the help of the Equal Opportunities Commission.
The commission received about eight complaints from people applying to the police and the Fire Services, Correctional Services and Customs and Excise departments last year.
The complainants were either former sufferers of genetically inherited mental illness or had family members with such problems.
They had passed interviews and examinations, with some already receiving training at cadet schools before being disqualified.
The employers admitted the complainants were rejected for public safety reasons, Equal Opportunities Commission director (disability) Frederick Tong Kin-sang said.
He said some of the cases had been settled with an employer's apology without the offer of a job, but others had decided to sue.
'We will be assisting them in their civil claims,' Mr Tong said.
