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A group of 20 workers who have suffered from workplace bullying, wearing masks to protect their identities, share their experiences in a café in Seoul in December 2017. (provided by Workplace Abuse 119)
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Critics say law only adds protective measures without mandating punishment
“I’m just telling you this as an older friend – be sure to use a condom when you hang out with your boyfriend.” That’s what an office worker that we will call “K” was told by an executive at her company. The executive in question often sexually harassed K and was also abusive, throwing folders at her. Even though K filed complaints, her company didn’t take any action. Even after K sued the executive for assault, she had to keep working with him and enduring his vindictive behavior. Eventually, K was even pressured to resign from the company. “I can’t forgive a company and a perpetrator who are incapable of improvement. I’m just full of anger, and every day is a struggle,” K said, who deals with psychological stress. Thus far, there had been no laws that provided remedies for workers who suffered bullying on the job, which had left K with little recourse other than reporting her superior for assault. In the future, though, that’s likely to change. On Dec. 27, a draft revision of the Labor Standards Act called the “Stop Workplace Bullying Bill” that had been pending at the Legislation and Judiciary Committee for some time was made law during a full session of the National Assembly. This revision to the Labor Standards Act defines workplace bullying as “exploiting one’s status at work or superior position in a relationship to cross appropriate workplace boundaries and cause physical or mental pain or worsen the working conditions for other workers” and contains protections for the victims of such bullying. But one shortcoming of this revision, activists say, is that it only adds protective measures, without mandating punishments. The revision to the act states that, when bullying occurs on the job, the employer must investigate the facts of the case and separate the offender and the victim by changing their assignment or place of employment. Employers are instructed to take appropriate measures such as asking victims to take a paid holiday. Employers who subject victims or informers to unpleasant treatment, such as firing them, can face a maximum of three years in prison and a fine of up to 30 million won (US$26,846). These measures are aimed at preventing “repeat victimization,” which can occur when the victim of workplace bullying and the perpetrator continue working in the same place, as happened in the case of K. Revision to Industrial Accident Compensation recognizes mental conditions from workplace bullying On Thursday, the National Assembly also passed a revision to the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act that states that victims of workplace bullying whose psychological stress leads to a medical condition can be recognized as having an occupational condition. Previously, workers who have come down with depression or acute stress disorder because of bullying on the job have lacked the legal grounds for arguing that these were occupational conditions. Workers already suffering from psychological conditions caused by workplace bullying often had to pay their own medical expenses, adding insult to injury. Significantly, this revision of the law represents the first attempt to create a legal definition for workplace bullying. “When people had contacted us about bullying on the job, such as abusive language and character defamation, we had to tell them there wasn’t a relevant law in place and so they weren’t likely to have much luck reporting the incident to the police,” said Choi Hye-in, permanent labor attorney at a group called Workplace Abuse 119. “Now that workplace bullying has been legally defined for the first time, the ground rules have been established for protecting workers from abuse.” By Lee Ji-hye, staff reporter Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]
