萬國法律事務所

An employee of the Workforce Development Agency under the Ministry of Labor allegedly committed suicide after being subjected to bullying by the branch director. In response, the Ministry of Labor has incorporated a new chapter on workplace bullying into the draft amendments to the Occupational Safety and Health Act ("OSHA").  The draft has passed preliminary review by the Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee of the Legislative Yuan. It is confirmed that matters concerning workplace bullying will henceforth be primarily governed under OSHA framework.
Under the proposed amendments, any clearly hostile or adverse workplace environment that poses a potential threat to an employee's physical or mental well-being will be deemed to constitute workplace bullying. The amendment further increases the administrative fines under OSHA, raising the maximum penalty for violations to NT$3 million.

After deliberation, Legislator Chien-Kuo Liu ruled that with the committee review completed, the draft amendments will be submitted directly to the plenary session for further consideration without the need for inter-party negotiation.