History

This law is hereby enacted to implement labor inspection system, enforce labor
laws, protect the labor-management rights and benefits, maintain the stability
of the society and to achieve economic development.

The Council of Labor Affairs, Executive Yuan, shall be designated as the
competent authority at the national level, the municipal government at the
municipal level and the county/city government at the county/city level.

The terms used in this law shall be defined as follows:
1.“Labor inspectorate” means a governmental inspection agency established
by the national or municipal competent authority or related authority for
the purpose of labor inspection.
2.“Appointed inspection agent” means an administrative unit, academic
institute, public institute, or a non-profit organization designated by the
national competent authority to inspect dangerous machine or equipment.
3.“Labor inspector” means a person who holds a labor inspection permit
and identification card authorized to carry out labor in-spection.
4.“Agent labor inspector” means the person who holds a partial delegated
inspection permit and identification card authorized to carry out the
inspection of dangerous machine of equipment.

The scope of labor inspection includes the enforcement of:
1.This law.
2.The Labor Standards Law.
3.The Labor Safety and Health Law.
4.Other labor laws.

Labor inspection shall be carried out by the labor inspectorate which is
established by the national competent authority or by the delegation of
inspection power from the national competent authority to the municipal
competent authority. When necessary, the labor inspectorate may conduct
joint inspection with the county/city competent authority.
The power of labor inspection as mentioned above shall be delegated
according to the requirements in this Law and under the direction and
supervision of the national competent authority.
The organizational and staffing criteria for the labor inspectorate shall be
planned and developed by the national competent authority according to the
number of business cooperations which shall be inspected and the
characteristics of each inspectorate region, and shall be approved by the
Executive Yuan.

Based on the current status of labor employment, conditions of safety and
health, occupational fatality/injury rates and the severity of fatalities/
injuries, the national competent authority shall issue, publicize and make
available the labor inspection strategic directives six months before the
beginning of next year. The strategic directives shall include the following:
1.Selection criteria for priority audit inspections of business
corporations.
2.Priority inspection items which should be audited.
3.Inspection objectives and principles.
4.Others
Within three months following the issuance of inspection strategic directives,
an inspection audit plan shall be developed by the labor inspectorate and be
submitted to the national competent authority for approval.

The Labor inspectorate shall compile relevant information on the labor
inspections of business corporations and , when necessary, may request related
authorities or organizations to provide the required information.
Related authorities or organizations shall not refuse the above request except
those prescribed in other regulations.

Besides the related law applicable to the appointment of civil servants, the
additional requirements for the appointment of labor inspectors shall be
specified by the national competent authority.

Labor inspectors shall receive professional training.
This training program shall be developed by the national competent authority.

Labor inspectors, assigned by the labor inspectorate on the basis of their
specialities and the characterists of inspections to be conducted, shall carry
out the duties as prescribed in Article 4.

Labor inspectors shall not:
1.Alter, conceal or falsify factual information in the inspection reprots.
2.Disclose during the appointed term and after resigning from the position of
labor inspectors any secret related to the production technology, equipment,
and financial management of the inspected business corporations.
3.Disclose the name of the complainant while handling a confiden tial
complaint.
4.Engage with the inspected business corporation in any financial
relationship which may lead to conflict of interests.
Anyone may report, according to the real situation, any violation of this
law or unfulfillment of the labor inspectors’s duties.

When there is potnetial conflict of interests between a labor inspector and
a business corporation, the labor inspector shall declare such
potentialities and avoid the inspection of this business corporation. The
protocol for reporting potential conflict of interests shall be determined
by the national competent authority.

Labor inspector shall not pre-notify any business corporation the schedule
of an inspection except the following:
1.An audit or an inspection as prescribed in article 26.
2.An inspection of a dangerous machine or equipment.
3.An investigation of occupational fatality/injury.
4.Other inspections approved for not giving pre-notifications by the labor
inspectorate or the national competent authority.

A labor inspector shall, for the purpose of carrying out his/her inspection
duties and powers under this Law and the related regulations, enter the
business corporation at any time. The employer, any agent acting on behalf
of the employer, labor and any other related person shall not refuse, avoid or
obstruct the inspection without any reason.
When necessary, the labor inspector may request assistance from police officer
to deal with the refusal, avoidance or obstruction of the inspection.

When carrying out the inspection duties, a labor inspector shall, within the
scope of labor inspection, present himself/herself to the employer, related
department manager, union representative (s) and other related persons and
shall:
1.Inquire the related persons and, when necessary, take written record of the
inquiry or tape record the inquiry.
2.Notify related persons to provide the required reports, records, employees
’salary records and related documents or provide explanations as deemed
necessary.
3.Examine documents, information and materials prepared by the business
corporation as required by law; where necessary, the labor inspector may
make copies of the documents, records and information, take photographs,
make videotapes or make measurements.
4.Seize materials, samples, equipment, and tools for examination and tests
upon giving a receipt or detain the seized things in a sealed storage.
The business corporation or related persons shall not refuse, avoid or
obstruct a labor inspector while performing the above duties.
Where necessary, the business corporation may apply to the labor
inspectorate for examining or duplicating the videotapes or photographs
taken by the labor inspector under item 3, paragraph 1 of this article.
Labor inspectorate shall not refuse this request from the business
corporation.

Where any person is suspected of violating the Labor Inspection Law, a labor
inspector may, where necessary, acquire a search warrant from the prosecutor
and search the workplace (s) and office (a) for related materials, documents
and things which may be detained temporarily for use as criminal evidence.

For the purposes of inspecting dangerous machines or equipment, the national
competent authority may, if necessary, designate an appointed inspection agent
to assign its agent inspectors for performing inspection duties, in addition
to the inspections conducted by labor inspectors from the labor inspectorate.

The national competent authority shall develop the criteria for determining
the appointed inspection agent’s qualification, competence, responsibilities,
certification and award consideration in addition to determining the
qualification, competence and training requirements of the agent inspectors.

An appointed inspection agent shall operate on a non-profit basis, the fees to
be charged for inspecting dangerous machines or equipment shall be
calculated on the basis of maintaining the income/expenditure balance and
shall be submitted to the national competent authority for approval.

Before making changes to the business operations, the appointed inspection
agent shall apply to the national competent authority for approval of the
machines or equipment, incpection classes, and districts to be added to or
deleted from the business list.

The requirements as prescribed in article 11, article 12 shall also apply to
agent inspectors.

Upon entering a business corporation for inspection, a labor inspector shall
show the inspector permit and identification card and notify the employer
and the union(a). The business corporation may refuse inspection by a labor
inspector without holding the inspector permit and identification card.
After conducting an inspection, the labor inspector shall complete the
inspection record and notify the business corporation the contraventions and
provide suggestions based on the requirements of labor law to the employer and
the workers.
The labor inspector permit and identification card mentioned in it paragraph 1
shall be issued by the national competent authority.

Where necessary and subject to the approval of labor inspectorate, a labor
inspector may initiate invitation and be accompanied by related competent
authorities, academic institutes, related organizations, specialists or
physicians to make a joint inspection and assessment. The business corporation
inspected shall not refuse it.
The requirements as prescribed in item 2, paragraph 1 in article 11 and
article 12 shall also apply to any person invited by the labor inspector to
make the joint inspection.

While investigating, reviewing, analyzing and assessing an occupational
fatality/injury, labor inspectorate shall request the Labor Safety and
Health Research Institute, administered under the national competent
authority, or the other academic or research institutes to provide the
necessary technical assistance.

The labor inspector shall report the results of inspecting the business
corporation to his/her labor inspectorate and handle the case in the manner as
prescribed in the law. Where there is a contravention, the labor
inspectorate shall notify the business corporation in writing within ten
days and order immediate rectification or long-term improvement and shall,
also, distribute copies of the inspection report to the municipal or county/
municipal competent authorities to monitor compliance. Where the business
corporation is a public utility, a copy of the inspection results shall also
be distributed to its supervisory agency which shall monitor the compliance of
the affected public utility with the requirements.
The business corporation shall post the results of inspection for at least
seven days in conspicious place (s) within the work area where the
contravention has been found.

Without the approval of labor inspectorate through review or inspection(s),
the business corporation shall not allow workers to work in the following
workplaces:
1.Places which process the cracking of petroleum or petroleum products in
petrochemical industry,
2.Places which manufacture agricultural chemicals,
3.Factories which make fire-crackers and fireworks or the places which
manufacture gunpower,
4.Places which install pressure vessels containing gases under high
pressures. Or steam boilers which meet the pressure or volume criteria as
set in the regulation by the national competent authority,
5.Places which manufacture, handle and use dangerous or harmful materials
in quantities at or above the threshold quantites as specified by the national
competent authority,
6.Places of construction projects designated by the national competent
authority in consultation with the supervisory agencies of the targeted
business corporations.
7.Other places designated by the national competent authority.
The inspection items on these places mentioned above shall be determined by
the national competent authority.

When there is a serious occupational fatality or injury, the labor
inspectorate shall assign labor inspector(s) to inspect and investigate the
causes and determine the person(s) or party(-ies) liable for the fatality/
injury. Where it is necessary to stop work in order to prevent similar
fatality/injury, the labor inspector(s) shall notify the business
corporation in writing and order work stoppage in all or part of the
workplace/operation.

During a safety and health inspection and when there is an imminent danger
to the worker(s), a labor inspector shall notify the business corporation in
writing that work stoppage has been ordered at the affected workplace/
operation.

Where a contravention has not been rectified by the established compliance
date and there is a likelihood that an occupational fatality or injury may
occur, the labor inspector shall report to his/her labor inspectorate. Where
necessary, the labor inspectorate shall notify the business corporation to
stop the whole or part(s) of operation.

After the causes for work stoppage have been eliminated, the business
corporation, which was notified to stop work under article 27 to 29 of this
Law, may apply to the labor inspectorate for resuming work.

When entering the business corporation for inspection, the agent inspector
shall show his/her identity card and shall inform the business corporation
to designate the appropriate person available on site.
Upon inspecting the dangerous machine or equipment which meets the
certification requirements, the agent inspector shall sign the original
certificate and specify the valid certification period; where the requirements
are not met, the agent inspector shall notify the business corporation the
non-compliance to his/her appointed inspection agent; the agent shall inform
the labor inspectorate by a letter, and the inspectorate shall handle the
contravention in a manner as prescribed in the law.
The dangerous machine or equipment which failed to comply with the requirement
shall not be operated unless it has been recertified.
The agent inspector’s identity card shall be issued by the central
competent authority.

The business corporation shall post the following in a conspicuous place or
places in the workplace:
The names of agencies or persons who handle workers’ complaints.
The scope of labor-related matters within which a complaint may be made.
The format of worker complaint form.
The procedure of making a complaint.
The format and content of the posted notice shall be determined by the
national competent authority.

Upon accepting a complaint from worker(s), the labor inspectorate shall
initiate, according to the nature of the complaint, an inspection by labor
inspector(s), and shall notify the complainant(s) the results of the
inspection within fourteen days.
The union upon receiving a complaint from worker(s) shall review and verify
the worker’s complaint and, shall suggest improvement complainant(s) and
the labor inspectorate.
Where the business corporation rejects the suggestions mentioned above, the
nuion may apply to the labor inspectorate for requesting an inspection.

In any of the following cases, the business corporation upon conviction is
liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than three years or to a fine of
not more than one hundred and fifty thousand NT dollars:
Violation of article 26 to permit workers working in workplaces without
approval granted or without complying with the requirements of the law.
Violation of stop work order as specified in article 27 to 29 Upon violating
the regulations mentioned above, the representative of a corporation, the
agent of corporation or person-in-charge, the employees or other workers shall
be penalized in addition to the fines imposed on the corporation or the
person-in-charge.

In any of the following violations, the business corporation or the
contravenor shall be fined between thirty thousand dollars and one hundred and
fifty thousand NT dollars:
 Violation of paragraph 1, article 14 of this Law.
 Violation of paragraph 2, article 15 of this Law.

In any of the following violations, a fine between thirty thousand and sixty
thousand NT dollars shall be imposed:
Business corporation violating paragraph 2, article 25 or paragraph 1,
article 32 of this Law.
Related organization violating paragraph 2, article 7 of this Law.

Business corporation or related organization which has not paid the fine by
the date specfied in the notice shall be refered to the court for collecting
the fine.

Before this Law is in effect, a dangerous workplace as designated by law and
as regulated under article 26 shall apply to labor inspectorate for approval
within the period designated by the national competent authority. Should
workers be permitted to work in a dangerous workplace mentioned above
without applying for approval or inspection or failing to meet approval or
inspection requirements, the business corporation shall be penalized as
prescribed in article 34.

Implementation details of this Law shall be determined by the national
competent authority.

This Law shall be effective on the day of promulgation.