Disability discrimination in employment can be challenged; preserve evidence and explore complaints and legal aid first
Chinese law prohibits disability discrimination in recruitment, confirmation after probation, promotion, title assessment, pay, benefits, leave, and social insurance. You can complain to the competent authority and pursue the appropriate legal route. Ordinary losing-party court costs do not automatically include your lawyer's fee, so understand the process and available aid.
What it takes
Private lawyer fees can range from thousands to tens of thousands of RMB, with months of proceedings. Keep evidence yourself and investigate legal aid before assuming all costs must be paid privately.
What you may gain
Article 3 of the Law on the Protection of Persons with Disabilities prohibits disability discrimination, humiliation, and infringement. Article 38 prohibits discrimination in recruitment, confirmation, promotion, professional-title appraisal, remuneration, welfare, rest and leave, and social insurance. Employers must provide appropriate working conditions and protection and adapt workplaces, equipment, and living facilities to actual needs. Article 64 permits competent departments to order correction and disabled workers to bring lawful court proceedings. Disability Employment Regulations Articles 4 and 13 likewise prohibit discrimination in employment and specified employment benefits. Legal Aid Law Article 42 exempts applicants from financial-hardship verification when they document membership of specified groups, including disabled people without a fixed source of livelihood. Article 45 requires accessible facilities and services according to need when legal aid is provided to older or disabled people. These are Chinese legal protections.
Context & considerations
Budget time and expense. The original refers to six months for ordinary first-instance proceedings, extendable, and three months for simplified proceedings; these are procedural time-limit references, not guaranteed minimum waiting periods, and actual duration varies. Lawyer fees are outside the ordinary court-cost list in Article 6 of the Measures for Payment of Litigation Costs, so Article 29's losing-party rule does not generally shift them automatically. Start with a human resources or federation complaint and ask about legal aid. Keep the Article 42 condition intact: disability alone is not the quoted exemption; the specified lack of a fixed livelihood matters. Evidence is often the hardest part, particularly an oral recruitment refusal. Preserve lawful recordings and messages where possible. Disputes after employment may require labor arbitration first; see chapter 19, entry 8 for evidence and deadlines. You are the beneficiary.
Research & references
Law on the Protection of Persons with Disabilities, Articles 3, 38, and 64. https://flk.npc.gov.cn/detail?id=ff8080816f135f46016f1d134c88132b; State Council (2007). Disability Employment Regulations, Articles 4 and 13. https://www.gov.cn/zhengce/zhengceku/2008-03/28/content_6646.htm; Legal Aid Law, Articles 42 and 45. https://flk.npc.gov.cn/detail?id=ff8081817b6472a3017b6577820f0061