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author: he guosheng, a reporter from southern window

editor | xiang you

after getting the pre-employment physical examination report, xiaoyu received a message from hr - the job that was originally available was "cancelled". the problem was due to the background check before joining the company. the group's background check found that xiaoyu had a civil lawsuit record before, which did not meet the employment requirements.

"the litigation record is a veto item, this is the group's rule." hr told xiaoyu. "i was devastated at the time." xiaoyu said that the litigation record that was retrieved was a labor contract dispute that she and her colleagues filed in court after the former boss of the company ran away. she was the plaintiff.

in may 2024, the court ruled that the boss of the former company must pay xiaoyu's salary within a certain period of time. however, she won the judgment but lost her new job. xiaoyu informed the hr of the new company of the cause and effect, hoping that she could explain to the group and fight for it again. but in the end, xiaoyu was still rejected.

"i think no normal person would think of such a thing. it's speechless. i was cheated just after entering the society. i encountered such a company that ran away. i filed a lawsuit but didn't get the money. now we have to bear more consequences for normal rights protection." xiaoyu said.

stills from "happiness to every home"

however, something xiaoyu could not have imagined had already happened. previously, according to the workers' daily, labor arbitration experience became a "stain" for job seekers. once a job seeker had a labor arbitration case with his or her previous company, he or she would likely be rejected during the background check because of this experience.

in fact, the scope of the "stain" goes far beyond the labor arbitration records, but covers the entire litigation records.

two years ago, zhang yumei, who worked hard in shanghai, found a clerk job at a well-known car company's 4s store. after two rounds of interviews, the other party was satisfied and asked her to take a physical examination and start work as soon as possible. but before that, she also needed to do a background check.

after the physical examination, zhang yumei received a notice from hr that her employment qualification was cancelled because the background check revealed that she had a lawsuit record. zhang yumei asked for the background check report and found that the so-called lawsuit record was a debt dispute she sued someone for seven or eight years ago.

"i am the plaintiff. someone has owed me money for a long time and i am going to collect it back." zhang yumei said that the hr told her that no matter whether she is the plaintiff or the defendant, as long as there is a record of litigation, she will not be hired.

"i was shocked. i didn't expect that an act of self-protection would affect my job hunting so many years later. it felt like the two things were completely unrelated." zhang yumei didn't understand the company's logic.

litigation record, veto

the position that xiaoyu failed to get was not a senior executive or special position, but an ordinary position in the imaging department of a private hospital. however, the main body of this private hospital is a listed company, so background check was required.

the so-called background check is a process in which companies conduct multi-dimensional assessment and confirmation of candidates' basic information, education, work experience, and abilities in order to reduce employment risks.

before interviewing this hospital, xiaoyu worked in another private hospital in sichuan for nearly half a year. that was the second job xiaoyu found after graduating in 2023. when she joined the company, the hospital had not officially opened yet and was in the preparation stage. during that time, xiaoyu and her colleagues had nothing to do, occasionally cleaning and clearing work tools. after more than a month, xiaoyu and her colleagues suddenly received a notice that the hospital had been replaced because the former boss ran away without money.

at that time, their monthly salary had not been paid, and the new boss said he was willing to give them some subsidies to keep them. but "later when the new boss was about to inject capital into the hospital's account, he found that the hospital owed too much debt, so he also ran away." xiaoyu said that because the company owed her more than 5,000 yuan in salary, her colleagues in the administrative department took them to labor arbitration, but the arbitration court did not accept the case and asked them to go to court, so they submitted materials to the court for filing.

stills from collective demotion

after the court filed the case for a labor contract dispute, the trial began soon after. "because there were so many of us, it took several hearings to complete it, and the boss didn't come during the trial." xiaoyu said that on may 10 this year, the court ruled that the company had to pay the wages within 15 days, but it has not been paid until now.

in july, xiaoyu started looking for a job again and no longer worried about the previous disputes, but new problems arose.

"i found a medical imaging position at a private hospital in a listed city. after two rounds of interviews, the hr said there was no problem and asked me to go for a physical examination." xiaoyu recalled that as soon as she got the physical examination report, the hr said that they found out that she had a lawsuit record. xiaoyu hurriedly explained to the hr that it was a lawsuit for salary collection and hoped to explain it to the group.

in a panic, xiaoyu called the presiding judge at the time and asked him if the case could be withdrawn. the judge said that a case that had already been judged could not be withdrawn, and it had nothing to do with finding a job. but the reality was not like that.

shortly afterwards, hr replied to xiaoyu: "i just asked, veto item."

hr told xiaoyu that she could not be admitted because of the litigation record / source: photo provided by the interviewee

thousands of miles away, zhang yumei was also denied employment because of her litigation record. the position she applied for was as ordinary as xiaoyu's.

"i'm looking for a clerk-like position in a shanghai auto 4s shop. sometimes i have to make phone calls to schedule appointments with clients, and occasionally i have to move bottled water, documents, etc. it also requires some physical work. it's a very basic position."

zhang yumei said that when she heard that she was rejected because of her litigation record, "i was so angry that i laughed. this is not a key position that is very confidential or important. it's just a handyman. why are they so cautious? it seems that they are afraid that their employees will have legal awareness."

zhang yumei remembers that the company found two lawsuits against her during the investigation. one was that someone owed her money and she had no choice but to collect the debt. the other was that she took the decoration company to court to terminate the decoration contract. both lawsuits were finally mediated before the court and did not enter the actual trial stage. the court finally issued a ruling.

"i came to shanghai in 2008, and this is the first time i've encountered such a thing." zhang yumei said that she had never known that ordinary litigation records could affect job hunting. after being rejected at the time, in november 2022, she shared this experience on the social platform. many people in the comment area said that they had the same experience, and many of them said that they were rejected because of their experience in labor arbitration.

everyone is wondering how normal litigation or labor arbitration activities are related to job hunting?

“there is no absolute answer”

"in the cases i have handled, candidates with labor arbitration records were basically rejected." in the opinion of huang ting, the head of a headhunting company, although it cannot be generalized whether labor arbitration records or litigation records affect job hunting, according to her years of experience, most business owners still care about this.

"he thinks it is risky." huang ting explained that business owners will think that job seekers will choose labor arbitration or litigation when they have disputes with their original companies, so when they cooperate with them, they may also choose this method, which is a risk.

however, huang ting believes that the more realistic reason is that "they have a choice, and there are several candidates with little difference. if they choose the one with labor disputes, there will be risks, so they will definitely choose another person without disputes." huang ting said that business owners will not delve into the specific reasons why job seekers apply for labor arbitration or litigation, but directly avoid possible risks.

stills from "who"

moreover, such so-called risk avoidance is not limited to labor arbitration or civil litigation. huang ting gave an example, a candidate recommended by them entered the background check stage after several rounds of interviews. during this process, the employer heard some bad rumors about the candidate and rejected the candidate.

afterwards, huang ting and her colleagues found out that those rumors were pure lies. "it's not that companies believe these rumors, but they think that since there are rumors, there are risks, so they would rather not have them. so (by extension) people with arbitration records are not very friendly when applying for jobs," huang ting said.

however, huang ting also said that the situation she saw might be related to the fact that the positions they recommended were relatively high-level, because generally only high-level positions would undergo detailed background checks before employment.

but the experiences of xiaoyu and zhang yumei mentioned above give a different answer. they both applied for ordinary positions, but both went through background checks and missed the jobs they were about to take because of the discovery of litigation records.

in the experience of li meng, an hr at a state-owned enterprise, small and medium-sized companies generally conduct background checks on special positions (such as finance, procurement, legal affairs, etc.) or middle-level and management positions. however, some large enterprises or listed companies will conduct background checks on most positions, but the degree of detail varies.

"when we do background checks, if we know that the job seeker has labor arbitration experience or litigation records, we will learn about the relevant information." li meng said that whether it will affect employment depends on the specific situation and the reasons and background of the job seeker's labor dispute or arbitration. "if it is based on the unreasonableness of the employer, such as delayed salary or bankruptcy to recover the debt, we can understand it; but if it is due to the employee's reasons, such as job transfer or excessive concern about work arrangements, we will consider it." li meng told south window.

stills from "elite lawyer"

lin sen, a senior hr at a consumer goods listed company, generally agrees with li meng.

"for job seekers for key and high-level positions, we will pay attention to whether they have any criminal records or civil litigation records in their background checks. for ordinary positions, from a cost perspective, we are not willing to spend money to do background checks." lin sen said that about 40% of the positions in their company require background checks, and they use third-party background check services. the cost of a single person is about 800-1500 yuan.

if it is found that the job applicant has a labor arbitration record or litigation record, as long as it is reasonable, it will not be rejected directly, but the applicant will be observed and evaluated during the probation period.

however, lin sen said that before the epidemic, if there was a record of arbitration or civil litigation, they would indeed consider it carefully, but after the epidemic, the situation of each company was not very good, and many companies were in arrears of wages and laid off employees in disguise, so when they found that there was an arbitration record later, they could understand everyone better.

"whether a company will refuse to hire you because you have an arbitration record, there is no absolute answer." liu fei, a senior background checker, told southern window. she believes that the answer to this question depends on the company. "some companies are absolutely rigorous. the people i want must have zero flaws. during the background check, if there is any flaw in the person, they will not hire him, because they have too many talents to choose from."

according to her experience, financial or state-owned enterprises and institutions are usually very concerned about job seekers with arbitration records and other labor disputes. basically, they don't want to recruit them, whether it's a reasonable rights protection or malicious arbitration. "they think it's better to have less trouble than more, and they prefer employees who are more obedient." liu fei said that internet companies are not too sensitive to this. if there is a labor arbitration or litigation record, they will look at the specific arbitration reason and evaluate whether the job seeker is suitable for the position based on the facts.

"how can people

are being discriminated against for exercising their rights?

in addition to being surprised by the result, xiaoyu and zhang yumei were puzzled as to how the other party could find out such private information as litigation records or labor arbitration records. especially since xiaoyu's lawsuit was only concluded in may this year, she could not find the judgment documents on the judgment documents website.

"it can be checked through a third-party background check company." li meng told nanfeng window that as an enterprise, they do not have channels to check this information, but companies that specialize in background checks have channels to check.

background check service package of a third-party background check company

xiaoyu and zhang yumei remember that after the interview, they both received an email with a link to authorize the background check. after clicking on it, they filled in their identity information and phone number, and then signed electronically to authorize the third-party company to conduct a background check on them.

a few days later, they each received news that they failed the background check.

"currently there is no open official channel for us to check an individual's labor arbitration record." the above-mentioned background checker liu fei told nanfeng window, but this does not mean that the background check company cannot find out whether the job applicant has a labor arbitration record.

there are two methods. one is to ask the previous company whether there was a labor arbitration when checking the job seeker's work experience, or the hr of the previous company will take the initiative to mention it; the other is that if one or both parties are dissatisfied after the labor arbitration, they will sue the court and escalate to civil litigation, at which time it can be found out through background check.

liu fei said that many positions require checking whether job applicants have any civil litigation records, and the main channels are the judgment documents network and the national court public information system.

the national court public information system can be used to search whether a job applicant has a civil litigation record.

nanfang chuang reporters also noticed that local human resources and social security departments’ official websites also publish some labor arbitration documents, which include specific information about applicants and enterprises. wang hui, a lawyer at beijing jingshi law firm, told nanfang chuang that the arbitration documents published on the human resources and social security department’s official website are because when the arbitrated party (enterprise) cannot be contacted or refuses to receive, the labor arbitration court adopts the method of public announcement delivery. apart from this, not all arbitration documents will be published.

"after we find out the information, whether the job seeker can be employed is not determined by us, but by the employer," liu fei explained. however, in order to collaborate efficiently, the background check company will discuss supporting plans and risk ratings with the employer.

at the background check company where liu fei works, there are four types of background check ratings: red, yellow, blue, and green, which are known in the industry as red light, yellow light, blue light, and green light. the most serious ones will be marked with a red light, which basically means you will not be able to get the job.

"as long as it is not a red light, it means that it is not absolutely prohibited in the company's employment standards." liu fei said that labor arbitration and litigation records will not show red lights, but generally yellow lights. the yellow light has two uses in daily life. one is to warn the business owner that there is information of concern in the report and to read it carefully; the other is to directly start a process. "in some companies, if you have a yellow light, the report will be copied to the business manager or even the human resources director for judgment."

however, liu fei stressed to nanfang chuang that the background check company's acquisition of all information of job seekers is legal and compliant, and the job seekers' authorization is obtained in advance. however, hr li meng, lin sen and headhunter huang ting told nanfang chuang that during the background check, the background check company may use a covert background check method to obtain some additional information of the job seekers.

the background check company may conduct a covert background check to obtain some additional information about the job applicant.

liu fei admitted that this phenomenon does exist. "there are even some small background check companies whose selling point is to do 'secret checks', but this is definitely illegal, and we firmly resist this practice." he also said that there are currently no targeted laws and regulations in the background check industry, and not all aspects are regulated, so some background check companies tell customers that they can check arbitration records, and even employees' exit records and other private information.

in fact, not only is "secret investigation" illegal, but being rejected for a job due to litigation records or labor arbitration records is also not in compliance with the law.

"it is neither legal nor reasonable to refuse to hire a job applicant because of his/her experience in arbitration or civil litigation." lawyer wang hui told southern window that from the perspective of employment, the criterion for hiring an employee should be whether he/she is competent for the job, and no other considerations should be made. "we should not decide to hire a job applicant based on factors that are irrelevant to the job requirements."

"from a legal perspective, the employment promotion law and the constitution have very clear provisions that workers enjoy equal employment and the right to choose their own jobs in accordance with the law, and shall not be discriminated against due to differences in ethnicity, race, gender, religious beliefs, etc." wang hui explained, "from the perspective of employees, labor disputes between them and their employers are often because their former employers have violated their legal rights and interests. the legal rights protection actions they take based on the rights granted by the law have nothing to do with whether they are qualified for the new position. how can a person be discriminated against for exercising his normal rights?"

stills from "twenty do not confused"

xiaoyu understands that the company's rejection of her due to her litigation record is not justified in law or reason, but after this incident, she feels like she has a criminal record. "if the situation is not particularly serious in the future, i may not consider going to arbitration or court (litigation) again," xiaoyu said.

(at the request of the interviewees, except for wang hui, all the characters in this article are pseudonyms)