(FWA 2025/10/24) To assist workers who have encountered occupational accidents and their families in overcoming difficulties, the Ministry of Labor (MOL) is promoting the “Legal Rights Assistance Program for Occupational Accident Workers and Their Families.” Starting from the moment an accident occurs, the program provides comprehensive legal support, including preliminary analysis of the accident’s cause, consultation with professional lawyers, accompaniment to settlement and mediation proceedings, and litigation aid. This ensures that the workers and their families can obtain the compensation they deserve. For migrant workers, interpretation assistance will be provided throughout the entire process to ensure barrier-free communication and the ability to exercise their legal rights.
The MOL stated that in practice, workers and their families often face three inequalities after an occupational accident: information inequality, power inequality, and economic resource inequality. Information asymmetry between employers and employees, coupled with a lack of specialized legal assistance, often leaves workers in a vulnerable position due to a lack of correct information. The simple legal consultations currently provided by various counties and cities cannot meet the needs of complex occupational accident cases, inadequately protecting the negotiation capabilities and rights of workers and their families.
Furthermore, existing legal aid resources have financial restrictions (means tests). Families who suddenly lose their economic support after an accident are unable to afford legal assistance fees. This has led to low settlement amounts in fatal occupational accident cases, with about 30% of settlements being less than NT$3 million. The low liability for employers reduces their incentive to prioritize industrial safety. Additionally, migrant workers with occupational injuries often face language barriers and a lack of understanding of regulations, preventing them from properly asserting their rights.
To resolve these difficulties, the new assistance program provides the following after an accident occurs:
- Immediate Information: Provide workers and their families with a preliminary analysis report of the occupational accident investigation, allowing them to understand the incident’s circumstances, shortening the time to obtain information, and strengthening evidence availability.
- Legal Expertise: Offer specialized lawyer consultations, accompaniment to settlement and mediation services, enabling workers to receive professional legal assistance immediately after the accident to protect their rights and avoid hastily accepting unfavorable settlement or mediation agreements. There are also plans to include labor dispute arbitration procedures within the scope of legal aid, allowing workers to resolve disputes quickly through arbitration.
- Expanded Litigation Aid: In addition to the current labor litigation aid project co-run by the MOL and the Legal Aid Foundation, the program will further relax requirements for workers (and their families) who have suffered severe injuries or death, waiving the means test to provide prompt litigation aid. It will also expand aid to cover necessary costs in criminal proceedings and plans to assist families of deceased workers by advancing the security deposit for provisional attachment procedures. Concurrently, workshops will be held for the MOL’s specialized labor lawyers to enhance the service quality and professionalism of aid cases.
- Full Interpretation Support: Provide comprehensive interpretation assistance for migrant workers throughout all dispute resolution processes, ensuring they can communicate without barriers and effectively exercise their legal rights.
- Education and Training: Actively promote legal rights education for both employers and workers to increase understanding of their respective rights and obligations after an accident. Training related to occupational accident victim affairs will also be provided for lawyers, mediators, and local Professional Accident Service personnel (PAS) to enhance the professionalism of post-accident rights protection services.
