We at the Migrant Worker Study have been consulted on various cases and there are many cases that were solved. Here, we introduce some of the cases.
Case 1 - Overwork death
A dispatched worker of Japanese descent in A Prefecture complained of health problems while working at the company he was dispatched to and died suddenly of cardiac failure.
Since death from overwork was suspected, we collected evidence on labor hours, from his time cards based on the evidence preservation procedure. It was found that the worker had worked 100 hours of overtime during the month before his sudden death.
We received a request from the bereaved family in his home country. The workers’ compensation claim we filed with the labor standards office was approved. A lawsuit for compensatory damages against both the dispatching company and the client company is now in the trial process.
Case 2 - Industrial accident
A foreign worker (from Africa) in B Prefecture was trapped under a concrete product and badly injured while working at the company where he was dispatched. Fortunately there is no threat to his life. Neither the dispatching company nor the client claimed workers' compensation. What is worse is that the worker was dismissed and has not been able to receive compensation for the period of absence from his job or for the after effects.
The worker has now filed a workers' compensation claim at the labor standards office.
Case 3 - Demand for overtime pay
Insufficient extra wages calculated by using a wrong method were paid to a dispatched worker of Japanese descent in C Prefecture over a long period.
A lawsuit for the extra wages by an appropriate calculation method and payment of a cash rebate is now in the trial progress.
Case 4 - Unfair dismissal
Dispatched workers of Japanese descent in D Prefecture were suddenly dismissed by the dispatching company. However, there was no reason for the dismissal. Therefore, they consulted the labor union and then they sought a labor tribunal decision against the unfair dismissal with their lawyers’ help.
The labor tribunal decision granted that their dismissal was unfair. Wages unpaid for about six months after dismissal were ordered to be paid.
Since the workers were dispatched under disguised contract labor, the client company was supervised by the labor department. Consequently, one of the workers was directly hired by the client company.
Case 5 - Sexual harassment
A Chinese woman worker in E Prefecture was subjected to repeated sexual harassment from her employer. She refused the advances, so the employer dismissed her.
Under the mentorship of her lawyer, the labor union of her company negotiated with the company for her, so that the company admitted to the sexual harassment. The company paid her consolation and settlement money for the sexual harassment on the condition that she leaves the company.
Case 6 - Technical interns
Wages lower than the legal minimum wage were paid for over two years to a Chinese technical intern in F Prefecture, and what is worse, extra wages for overtime work were not paid although he was made to do many hours of overtime every day.
Even though this technical intern had already gone back to his country, he requested the lawyer to make a lawsuit to seek unpaid wages, which is now in the trial process.