TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan’s Ministry of Labor (MOL) has identified 12 scenarios where employers are required to address cases of sexual harassment involving employees and non-employees.
Effective March 2024, amendments to the Gender Equality in Employment Act mandate that employers investigate workplace sexual harassment, impose penalties on perpetrators, and provide counseling resources to victims, according to CNA. For cases where employees are harassed by members of the public, employers must apply the provisions of the Sexual Harassment Prevention Act.
Huang Wei-chen (黃維琛), director of the MOL’s Department of Labor Standards and Equal Employment, said ministries have clarified 12 types of situations where employers are legally obligated to act. These include:
- Public transport workers harassed by passengers.
- Medical staff harassed by patients or their families at medical institutions.
- Personal care attendants harassed by service recipients or their families.
- Security guards harassed by residents, visitors, or delivery personnel.
- Real estate agents sexually harassed by clients.
- Car salespeople harassed by customers.
- Instructors or trainers harassed during their duties.
The act also applies to employees in shops, restaurants, department stores, theaters, hotels, banks, and similar workplaces who are harassed by customers. Employers in these scenarios must provide counseling resources, medical assistance, or other forms of support to affected employees.
Huang noted that verbal abuse or inappropriate messages sent to customer service operators or social media staff are also violations under the Sexual Harassment Prevention Act.
In response, the Modern Women's Foundation emphasized the need to revise the Gender Equality in Employment Act to reduce confusion for employers, per CNA. Executive Secretary Wu Tzu-ying (吳姿瑩) argued that instead of listing scenarios under the Sexual Harassment Prevention Act, clearer definitions of sexual harassment in the Gender Equality in Employment Act would help ensure legal interpretations are accepted by the courts.