Dear Friend, 

As alerted previously, on 16 August 2023, the President announced the amendments to the Gender Equality in Employment Act (GEEA) and Sexual Harassment Prevention Act (SHPA).  Among the amendments, certain articles took effect on 18 August 2023, while certain critical amended articles will take effect on 8 March 2024, which include, but are not limited to expansion of the workplace sexual harassment scope, more requirements of investigation procedures, and the employer’s obligation to report the sexual harassment to the government.  In addition, we urge that the relevant internal rules of an employer need to be amended to be in line with the amendments.  Let us know if we can be of any assistance.

See below a summary of the importance articles below:

1. Amendment to the GEAA

(1) The scope of the workplace sexual harassment is expanded to include any instance of continuous sexual harassment occurring during off duty hours of employees within the same business entity or different business entities under the shared collaborative or operational relationships.  (Paragraph 3, Article 12)

(2) Any employer with 10 to 30 employees are required to establish and publicly announce channels for reporting sexual harassment.  (Paragraph 1, Article 13).

(3) An employer is required to take "effective correctional and remedial measures" when the sexual harassment is known through complaints or otherwise.  (Paragraph 2, Article 13)

(4) Employers are required to report to the competent authority when they receive complaints of sexual harassment from victims.  (Paragraph 4, Article 13)

(5) Employers may take temporary measures during the investigation period, such as suspending or adjusting the accused party's duties, if the accused party holds a position of power and the case of sexual harassment is severe.  If sexual harassment is confirmed to be severe, employers may terminate the employment contract without notice within 30 days after the investigation result is known.  (Article 13-1) 

(6) Employees or job applicants dissatisfied with the results of employers’ investigation or disciplinary actions may file a complaint directly with the local competent authority within the deadline.  Exceptions for the deadline are provided for minors or employees who leave their jobs.  (Article 32-1)

(7) More and higher penalties for violation and statutes of limitation for complaints, claims and sanctions are provided.  (Articles 30, 32-1, 38-1 to 38-3)

2. Amendments to the SHPA

(1) Owners of government agencies (entities), military units, schools, institutions, or employers are required to take effective corrective actions and remedial measures for sexual harassment that occurs in their premises.  (Paragraphs 2 and 3, Article 7)

(2) If the violating employee works for a government agency, military unit, or school, the complaint shall be filed with the unit he or she serves.  If he or she is one of the highest-ranking officials or the employer, the complaint shall be handled by the social affairs bureaus of the municipal or county (city) governments.  The complaint period is 2 years for sexual harassment, 3 years for power-abused sexual harassment.  For victims who are still minors, the period is 3 years after adult.  (Article 14)

Alex Li / Paul Hsu