The Legislative Yuan yesterday passed amendments to the Civil Service Protection Act (公務人員保障法) that clearly define, set penalties and improve complaint handling procedures for workplace bullying in government agencies.
The amendments define workplace bullying as behavior by personnel within the same agency who use power, influence or opportunity to harass or abuse someone.
Bullying can include repeated threats, insults, discrimination, humiliation, isolation or any other hostile, coercive or offensive conduct that leads to a hostile work environment harmful to the physical or mental health of civil servants, the amendments say.
Photo: CNA
In severe cases, the bullying does not need to be ongoing.
Under the amendments, the time limit for filing complaints has been set at five years for cases involving the misuse of power and three years for those that do not.
If a senior official or department head is found guilty of workplace bullying, they would face a fine of NT$500,000 to NT$1 million (US$16,928 to US$33,857), the amendments say.
If the death of a civil servant occurs due to failure to implement appropriate health and safety protection measures, the person responsible would face a sentence of seven years in prison and a fine of up to NT$2 million.
Any retaliatory or unreasonable treatment against civil servants who suggest improvements to health and safety measures, or who file workplace bullying complaints, would result in fines ranging from NT$30,000 to NT$75,000, which could be imposed repeatedly.
Those made aware of instances of workplace bullying who fail to take effective measures to stop it, or who fail to implement the legally required health and safety protections within a set deadline after official notification, would face a fine of NT$30,000 to NT$1.5 million.
If failure to provide appropriate safety and health protections results in a major disaster, meaning three deaths or more, the person responsible would face three years in prison, detention or a fine of up to NT$1 million.
The amendments would also improve complaint and incident handling procedures, as the Civil Service Protection and Training Commission would be required to convene a health and safety incident review panel to handle investigations and decide on penalties. The panel would consist of five to seven academics or experts.
Under the amendments, the commission could inspect or instruct higher-level agencies to inspect any institution reported to have improper or inadequate health and safety protections, or workplace bullying prevention measures.
If any contraventions are found, the agency must be informed and given a deadline to make improvements. If it fails to do so, the issue would be handled based on the severity of the infraction, the amendments say.
The amendments would take effect six months from their promulgation.
Additional reporting by CNA
AGING: While Japan has 22 submarines, Taiwan only operates four, two of which were commissioned by the US in 1945 and 1946, and transferred to Taiwan in 1973 Taiwan would need at least 12 submarines to reach modern fleet capabilities, CSBC Corp, Taiwan chairman Chen Cheng-hung (陳政宏) said in an interview broadcast on Friday, citing a US assessment. CSBC is testing the nation’s first indigenous defense submarine, the Hai Kun (海鯤, Narwhal), which is scheduled to be delivered to the navy next month or in July. The Hai Kun has completed torpedo-firing tests and is scheduled to undergo overnight sea trials, Chen said on an SET TV military affairs program. Taiwan would require at least 12 submarines to establish a modern submarine force after assessing the nation’s operational environment and defense
A white king snake that frightened passengers and caused a stir on a Taipei MRT train on Friday evening has been claimed by its owner, who would be fined, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said yesterday. A person on Threads posted that he thought he was lucky to find an empty row of seats on Friday after boarding a train on the Bannan (Blue) Line, only to spot a white snake with black stripes after sitting down. Startled, he jumped up, he wrote, describing the encounter as “terrifying.” “Taipei’s rat control plan: Release snakes on the metro,” one person wrote in reply, referring
The coast guard today said that it had disrupted "illegal" operations by a Chinese research ship in waters close to the nation and driven it away, part of what Taipei sees a provocative pattern of China's stepped up maritime activities. The coast guard said that it on Thursday last week detected the Chinese ship Tongji (同濟號), which was commissioned only last year, 29 nautical miles (54km) southeast of the southern tip of Taiwan, although just outside restricted waters. The ship was observed lowering ropes into the water, suspected to be the deployment of scientific instruments for "illegal" survey operations, and the coast
Yangmingshan National Park authorities yesterday urged visitors to respect public spaces and obey the law after a couple was caught on a camera livestream having sex at the park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) earlier in the day. The Shilin Police Precinct in Taipei said it has identified a suspect and his vehicle registration number, and would summon him for questioning. The case would be handled in accordance with public indecency charges, it added. The couple entered the park at about 11pm on Thursday and began fooling around by 1am yesterday, the police said, adding that the two were unaware of the park’s all-day live
RSS