A court in Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi province, has awarded a man 8,000 yuan ($1,258) in damages after he?was refused employment because he is a hepatitis B virus carrier, Xi'an Evening News reported on Tuesday.

Zhang Peng (not his real name), a Tongji University graduate, signed an employment contract with Northwestern Architectural Design Institute Company Ltd in October 2011, but was not hired by the company after he was found to be carrying the hepatitis B virus. On March 15, Zhang brought a lawsuit against the company, asking for 50,000 yuan in compensation.

A local court made the judgment on the case on Monday.

Job discrimination against hepatitis B virus carriers was banned in a document issued by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education in February 2010.