The COVID-19 pandemic is over, but graduates who attended college during the period are facing its ripple effect in the form of discrimination in the job market.

Several graduates complained on social networking sites of unfair treatment during job interviews, with some employers declaring at the very outset that they will not hire those who graduated in 2022, 2023, and 2024, meaning those who were students at the time of the pandemic.

These companies argue that graduates from the pandemic years are generally less qualified. Because most places, including education institutions, were shut down during the pandemic, there were no regular classes and students were taking classes online. As a result it increased the time they spent on smartphones, reducing their focus on studies. The employers further say that the impact of the pandemic years can be seen in the discipline of some of the people they have hired from those years — they often show up late for work or leave early.

The extended period of remote learning also disrupted their social skills, making them reluctant to socialize at the workplace. Virtual courses also weakened their hands-on and practical knowledge or abilities.

Companies, be they small businesses with a dozen employees or large corporations with thousands of employees, have labeled these students as the "pandemic generation", and chosen to outright reject them.

As many will confirm, the issues these companies are raising are not entirely baseless. Limited learning from online classes, combined with a lack of internship and hands-on experience is indeed responsible for skill gaps in some students. However, labeling them as the "pandemic generation" and using that as a hiring filter is unfair and unjust. Many students rose to challenges posed by the pandemic to repeatedly review online courses, overcome numerous challenges, show resilience and develop stronger adaptability. A blanket hiring ban will lead to companies losing the chance to hire a pool of really talented candidates.

Furthermore, companies lack legal grounds to slap the tag of "pandemic generation" on anyone. Refusing to hire graduates from those years on this basis may violate employment promotion laws and also constitutes discrimination against a specific group.

According to the Employment Promotion Law of the People's Republic of China, workers have the legal right to equal employment and the freedom to choose jobs without facing discrimination on ethnic, racial, gender, or religious grounds. Employers are required to provide equal job opportunities and fair conditions to everyone and are prohibited from engaging in employment discrimination.

The pandemic is over, and this kind of discrimination should no longer burden these graduates.