Programmer’s death on office toilet ruled not work-related because he never turned on his PC

A Chinese programmer who died while sitting on a toilet at work was denied a work-related death classification because he had not reached his desk or turned on his computer.

The 39-year-old father of two, identified under the pseudonym Xing Zhi, worked as a programmer in Shenzhen.

According to local reports, Xing arrived at his company’s parking garage at 8:56 on April 23 and clocked in before asking a security guard for directions to a bathroom on the building’s second floor.

He entered at approximately 9:01 but never came back out. Xing’s workstation was located on the 11th floor.

At 11:28, he was found unconscious and slumped on the toilet. His employer used an AED and called emergency services, but a doctor stopped resuscitation efforts and confirmed his death at 12:50.

Reports described his death as sudden, but a specific medical cause has not been disclosed.

Xing’s employer provided his family with an undisclosed amount of compensation and applied to have his death recognized as work-related. However, his wife received a rejection from the Shenzhen Human Resources and Social Security Bureau on July 3.

Unsplash.com: Giorgio Trovato

Programmer’s wife appeals workplace death decision

The written decision said Xing’s death did not meet the requirements of Articles 9 or 10 of the Guangdong Province Regulations on Work-Related Injury Insurance.

In a recorded conversation provided by his wife, a bureau employee reportedly explained that Xing had gone to the second-floor bathroom without first reaching his 11th-floor workstation or performing any work-related tasks.

Xing’s wife, identified under the pseudonym Liu Nian, has requested an administrative review of the decision.

She said dashcam records showed that her husband usually left the company approximately three hours after his scheduled finishing time. During April, he reportedly left at around 9pm on most working days.

Pexels

Under Guangdong’s workplace injury rules, an employee’s sudden death can be treated as work-related if it occurs during working hours and at their work position, or within 48 hours of unsuccessful medical treatment.

Zhang Jian, a lawyer with Beijing Zhuohao Law Firm, argued that using the bathroom is a necessary physiological need connected to employment. He said workplace bathrooms should therefore be considered a reasonable extension of an employee’s work position.

A similar dispute previously reached a different conclusion. In 2024, a Guangdong court upheld a decision classifying the death of a chef as work-related after he collapsed while using a workplace bathroom.

If Xing’s appeal succeeds, his family could become eligible for funeral and dependent benefits alongside a lump-sum payment of 1,130,040 yuan, approximately $165,000.

This follows another controversial legal argument involving Roblox claiming an eight-year-old waived her right to take the company to court by accepting its terms of use