Council of Labour Affairs (CLA) will revise Labour Standard Law. Employers violating the regulations of the Labor Standards Law will see their fines shoot up from their existing levels by three to five fold.
Under the revisions, employers who have employees work beyond legal overtime hours, fail to grant full pay or decline to give overtime pay will face fines of NT$20,000 to NT$200,000, up from the existing range of NT$6,000 to NT$60,000. Meanwhile, employers who illegally fire employees, fail to give severance or retirement pensions, deny employees maternity leave, or launch advance deduction of labor wages will be subject to fines of NT$90,000 to NT$450,000 from the existing level of NT$90,000. But such violations will be decriminalized, and violators will be required to face administrative punishment, in addition to paying heavy fines.
Under the revisions, employers who have employees work beyond legal overtime hours, fail to grant full pay or decline to give overtime pay will face fines of NT$20,000 to NT$200,000, up from the existing range of NT$6,000 to NT$60,000. Meanwhile, employers who illegally fire employees, fail to give severance or retirement pensions, deny employees maternity leave, or launch advance deduction of labor wages will be subject to fines of NT$90,000 to NT$450,000 from the existing level of NT$90,000. But such violations will be decriminalized, and violators will be required to face administrative punishment, in addition to paying heavy fines.
The officials said that much heavier fines are designed to effectively prevent employers from violating the Labor Standards Law. In the past, quite a few employers chose to pay low fines and then repeated the violations. In addition, the CLA has revised the labor law and removed criminal penalties for those who illegally fire employees, deny employees severance or retirement pensions or maternity leave, etc., and instead will have them face administrative punishments.
However, the CLA will include a new regulation in the revised labor law, allowing local county or city governments to reveal the names of employers found violating the labor law, in addition to imposing fines. The list of offending employers will include the name of the enterprise or institution and the responsible persons, which will also be publicized online at the CLA’s website.
The CLA will soon submit the draft amendments to the Labor Standards Law to the Cabinet for deliberation, which will then be sent to the Legislature for screening and ratification. If the amendments clear the legislative floor during the current legislative session, they will be put into practice in the second half of 2011.
Earlier, the CLA also tried to revise the rules and regulations governing labor dispatching and labor contracts, but was forced to suspend the revisions on the grounds that the amendments were too complicated and involved too many aspects to be completed in the short amount time.
However, the CLA will include a new regulation in the revised labor law, allowing local county or city governments to reveal the names of employers found violating the labor law, in addition to imposing fines. The list of offending employers will include the name of the enterprise or institution and the responsible persons, which will also be publicized online at the CLA’s website.
The CLA will soon submit the draft amendments to the Labor Standards Law to the Cabinet for deliberation, which will then be sent to the Legislature for screening and ratification. If the amendments clear the legislative floor during the current legislative session, they will be put into practice in the second half of 2011.
Earlier, the CLA also tried to revise the rules and regulations governing labor dispatching and labor contracts, but was forced to suspend the revisions on the grounds that the amendments were too complicated and involved too many aspects to be completed in the short amount time.
