Chinese Legislation in Employment Termination and Employment Discrimination: Suggestions for Improvement A Comparison between the United States and China

• Published in: The Asian business lawyer Vol. 30; pp. 41 - 72
• Main Author: Qing Sun
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Korean
• Published: 고려대학교 법학연구원 30-11-2022
• Subjects: command-and-obedience model; democratic participation of employees; employment discrimination; employment termination; sexual harassment
• ISSN: 2005-0054

This paper compares the employment termination laws and the laws against employment discrimination in China to the same type of laws in the United States, explores the cultural reasons behind Chinese laws, and then discusses the problems and feasible solutions regarding China's employment termination laws and the laws against employment discrimination with special attention to laws enacted in China’s new Civil Code against sexual harassment. China should boost the democratic participation of employees in the corporate process of making rules and regulations. With regard to the employment termination laws, both parties to a fixed-term employment contract should be bound by the duration, while the law should reduce the strict requirements for legal discharge. In terms of laws against employment discrimination in China, the present degree of public awareness and cultural shift is not sufficient for a comprehensive overhaul. However, in relation to the current issue of sexual harassment in the workplace, the law should clarify and expand the definition of sexual harassment and clarify the employer's liability, while lowering the burden of proof in sexual harassment cases.