Employers who force job applicants to take hepatitis B tests will face a 1,000 yuan fine under new labour ministry rules, measures which rights activists have hailed as the first concrete steps to fight discrimination against mainland carriers.
Activist Lu Jun said the rules were a big improvement.
'There have been other documents prohibiting hepatitis B tests in employment situations, but there has never been a fine,' Mr Lu said, although he wished the penalties were tougher.
The rules, introduced on Monday by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security but only reported yesterday, are meant to flesh out the recently passed Employment Promotion Law to further protect job seeker's rights.
The new 77-clause Employment Service and Employment Management Rules also aim to weed out other workplace discrimination.
Women applicants or employees must not be discriminated against on the basis of their sex, and employment contracts must not contain clauses that limit women's rights to marriage and giving birth.
Rural residents who migrate to work in cities should enjoy the same rights to employment as their urban counterparts, including entitlement to unemployment services and subsidies offered by local authorities once they have lived there for more than six months.
