Unpaid Leave and Forced Resignation After COVID-19 Recovery... "Considered Discrimination"

On the 16th, when the government announced special quarantine measures for the Seoul metropolitan area, citizens and foreign workers lined up at a temporary COVID-19 testing site set up in Guro Station Plaza, Seoul, to get tested. The Seoul Metropolitan Government issued an administrative order requiring foreign workers to undergo COVID-19 testing from the 17th to the 31st. Accordingly, employers who hire even one foreign worker and the foreign workers themselves must undergo COVID-19 testing, and employers who do not comply with the administrative order will be fined. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] Acts such as requiring a negative test certificate at the workplace or urging resignation after recovery from COVID-19 infection are considered 'discriminatory acts.' The government plans to strongly respond by regarding such discriminatory acts as violations of the Labor Standards Act.

On the morning of the 17th, the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters announced that it received and discussed a report from the Ministry of Health and Welfare's Central Accident Response Headquarters containing these details in the 'Support Measures for COVID-19 Recovered Patients (including those released from quarantine)'.

This plan states that even if a person has recovered from COVID-19, requiring a separate PCR negative test certificate upon return, imposing work-from-home or unpaid leave, or even urging resignation due to previous infection history are all considered discriminatory acts.

To support this, the authorities will specify on the quarantine release certificate that "those released from quarantine pose no risk of infection transmission, and a PCR negative test certificate is unnecessary," and actively provide related guidance. Yoon Tae-ho, head of the Central Accident Response Headquarters' quarantine team, emphasized, "Patients recovered from COVID-19 have no medical risk of further infection transmission," adding, "This is a consensus among the World Health Organization (WHO), the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, and domestic experts."

Additionally, workplace response guidelines will be revised to establish return-to-work criteria for recovered individuals, preventing various disadvantages and discrimination in the workplace. Disadvantages related to work-from-home or use of annual leave will be prohibited, and counseling will be supported to ensure normal work performance and psychological stability.

If discriminatory treatment occurs due to infection history, it will be regarded as a violation of the Labor Standards Act, with strengthened labor inspections and strict measures against violations.

Discriminatory treatment related to insurance enrollment will also be prevented. In cases where incomplete sales occur, such as guiding or selling insurance only available to those with pre-existing conditions, fines of up to 100 million KRW may be imposed.

Various supports for COVID-19 recovered patients will be promptly implemented or strengthened. Currently, the government provides one month's living support allowance based on the number of household members registered in the resident registration at the start of quarantine when notified of isolation or hospitalization treatment by the public health center due to COVID-19. The amount is 474,600 KRW for one person and 1,266,900 KRW for four people. An additional 44.6 billion KRW for the first quarter has been secured as contingency funds and urgently disbursed, with funds for the second quarter also being secured.

Psychological support will also be enhanced. The National Trauma Center receives information on recovered patients from the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency to ensure mental health management services are linked even after recovery. The National Trauma Center provides guidance on psychological support, offers in-depth counseling when specialized consultation is needed, and continues psychological support through connections with city, county, and district mental health welfare centers.

Local governments will also strengthen psychological support services tailored to regional circumstances. Yoon Tae-ho stated, "In Seoul, about 200 mental health institutions provide mental health checkups and psychological counseling," adding, "A four-week program for health management of discharged patients will also be operated soon."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.