The Taipei City Department of Labor has ordered McDonald’s to pay a fine of NT$1 million (US$30,585) for breaching gender equality laws in relation to a recent high-profile case of alleged sexual assault by a supervisor at the fast food restaurant of a teenager who later committed suicide.
In a news release on Wednesday, the department said the company contravened Article 13-2 of the Gender Equality in Employment Act (性別平等工作法), which mandates that employees must take “immediate and effective corrective and remedial measures” in instances where the employer “becomes aware of a situation involving sexual harassment.”
The department said McDonald’s failed to “provide or refer the complainant to counseling, medical or psychological counseling, social welfare resources, and other necessary services” as stipulated in the act.
Photo: CNA
As a result, the city government said it had levied the maximum fine allowable for the offense.
The fine was announced just one day after the company submitted its investigation report to the department after it was ordered to do so.
The case relates to a 17-year-old former employee who killed herself after being coerced into sex by her supervisor over a year-long period, according to the girl’s mother in a social media post that has attracted significant media attention in recent days.
The company said on Tuesday that it dismissed the supervisor in May following the girl’s sexual harassment complaint in March.
On Wednesday, Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) told a news conference that his department had “a very clear stance on the issue” and that the firing of the supervisor did not mean the end of the matter.
The case was referred to prosecutors in May, Taipei police said.
On Tuesday, a civil society group called for stronger protections for young people following the suicide.
“Teenagers often face high risks in the labor environment during the job search or when they first start working because of their age, experience and skills,” the Taiwan Alliance for Advancement of Youth Rights and Welfare said on Facebook.
The group said it is “extremely difficult” for young workers to seek help when faced with sexual assault or sexual harassment due to “unequal power relations” in the workplace.
Despite discussions with the Ministry of Labor, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, and other agencies since 2018, the alliance said that overall “systematic management mechanisms” and complaint channels have not yet been implemented.
On Wednesday, the Taipei City Police Department’s Shilin District issued a news release saying that it referred a separate criminal case to the Shilin District Prosecutors’ Office that involved the same former McDonald’s employee.
The girl fell victim to financial scammers in the months after she left her job at McDonald’s, the police said.
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