Human Rights Commission: Canceling a Web Designer Interview Solely Due to Hearing Disability Is Discrimination

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] The National Human Rights Commission has ruled that a company's unilateral refusal to provide an interview opportunity solely because of a hearing impairment constitutes discrimination against a person with a disability.

On the 25th, the Human Rights Commission announced that it recommended Company A, a small and medium-sized enterprise specializing in public relations, to take disciplinary action against its HR manager, conduct human rights education for persons with disabilities, and establish measures to prevent recurrence of similar discriminatory acts in the future. The Commission judged that "Company B's actions violated the Act on the Prohibition of Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities and, without justifiable reason, constituted discrimination based on disability."

Previously, the Commission received a complaint from Mr. B, who passed the document screening stage at Company A but had his interview canceled solely because he is hearing impaired. Mr. B claimed, "The company's refusal to even provide an interview opportunity due to my hearing impairment is discrimination against persons with disabilities." In response, the company stated, "We were completely unaware that such measures constituted discrimination against persons with disabilities," but also requested the Commission to consider that "the web designer role requires internal consensus and rapid communication with advertisers, which may be difficult for a hearing-impaired person to perform."

However, the Commission stated, "It was appropriate to provide Mr. A with an interview opportunity and decide on employment based on the results," and judged that "canceling the interview immediately upon confirming the hearing impairment meant the company excluded Mr. A solely because of the disability without evaluating job suitability based on work ability or experience." Furthermore, the Commission pointed out, "The company did not even minimally verify Mr. A's communication methods (such as sign language or text), and considering that partial communication difficulties can be supplemented through the company's obligation to provide reasonable accommodations, it is difficult to find a reasonable basis to conclude that Mr. A cannot perform the web designer role solely because of his hearing impairment."

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