Job Hiring Discrimination: Malaysian Legal Approach on Equal Employment Opportunities

Abstract

Workplace discrimination often occurs during employment when a group of people is treated unfairly because of specific characteristics. However, workplace discrimination may also occur during the early stage of job hiring process could restrict equal rights amongst the applicants and jobseekers. It jeopardises and denies the jobseeker's right to chances to be employed, resulting in a person's loss of their potential in securing the jobs. Therefore, this paper examines types of discrimination in job hiring from the standpoint of Malaysia and the legal redress provided under Malaysian regulatory framework concerning the issues of job seeking discrimination. The findings show that there is no specific provision addressing discrimination at the job seeking stage in Malaysia, thus this study suggests improvements in the existing employment law to include protection against discrimination to be extended to all stages including job seeking stage.