Gao v. Beijing Dangdang Information Technology Co., Ltd. (2020)

In January 2020, the Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People’s Court ruled that the dismissal of a transgender woman who had undergone gender-affirming surgery was unlawful and ordered her reinstatement. The transgender woman was employed as a product director since 2015 at Dangdang, an e-commerce company best known as one of the earliest and largest online book retailers in China, and was terminated for “continuous absenteeism” after taking medically advised leave for her surgery. The Court found that Dangdang’s leave policy lacked clarity, had not undergone the legally required employee consultation, and failed to define emergencies or specify procedures for urgent medical absences. The Court emphasized that gender-affirming surgery is a deeply private procedure and that last-minute medical decisions are reasonable in such contexts. While it did not directly rule on the plaintiff’s discrimination claim, it urged the company to respect her legally registered female identity, including access to women’s facilities, and cited official guidance on gender change in household registration. 

Topics

• Employment discrimination
• Gender discrimination
• LGBTIQ

Geographical location

• Asia
• China

Keywords

• transgender rights
• discrimination in the workplace
• wrongful termination
• gender identity

Year

• 2020

Court

• No. 2 Intermediate People's Court of Beijing

Type

• Domestic Case Law

Jurisdiction

• China