Taipei, July 31 (CNA) Taiwan’s Legislature on Monday passed amendments to a gender equality law that aim to better protect the rights and interests of victims of workplace sexual harassment.
The revisions to the Act of Gender Equality in Employment follow the passage of a similar bill last week involving harassment in educational settings, and come amid an ongoing #MeToo movement in Taiwan spurred by sexual misconduct accusations against a wide range of public figures.
The amended law stipulates that when serious workplace harassment allegations are made against a person in a position of authority, the company must place them on leave or move them into another role while an investigation proceeds.
If the allegations are proven true and reach a defined severity threshold, the company is required to terminate the offender’s work contract within 30 days of concluding the investigation.
In addition to conducting an internal probe, companies will also be required to report sexual harassment complaints and the results of their investigations to their local city or county labor department.
In cases where the victim does not accept the results of the company’s probe, they will be allowed to file an appeal with the labor department, the updated law states.
Meanwhile, the revisions will also require companies with between 10 and 29 employees to set up a sexual harassment reporting mechanism, expanding on current rules applicable only to companies with 30 or more employees.
Penalties and compensation
Under the amended law, companies that are aware of sexual harassment complaints and fail to take corrective actions are subject to fines of between NT$20,000 (US$636) and NT$1 million.
If the owner or person in charge of a company is themselves found to have committed harassment, they can be fined NT$10,000 to NT$1 million by local labor authorities, the law states.
In terms of civil compensation, meanwhile, the amendments will require courts to award workplace harassment victims an amount 2-3 times higher than the assessed damages if the offender was in a position of power, and 3-5 times higher if the offender is the company’s boss or owner.
However, as the changes will require manpower and budgetary adjustments by both companies and local governments, portions of the legal amendments approved on Monday will only take effect on March 8, 2024.
Other legislation
Separately on Monday, the Legislature passed amendments to the Sexual Harassment Prevention Act, which, among other things, will set a fine of NT$60,000 to NT$600,000 for exposing the personal data or other identifying information of a sexual harassment victim.
