This Act is enactedfor the purposes of ensuring expeditious,proper, professional, effective and equal treatment of labor cases, the protection of the rights and interests of employers and workers, and the promotion of harmonious labor relations, so as to pursuehealthy developmentof common life in society.

The term "labor cases," as mentioned in this Act, refers to the following events:
1. Civil disputes concerning labor laws, group agreements, work regulations, labor-management resolutions, labor contracts, labor norms, and other relations pertaining to labor relations.
2. Civil disputes between students and institutions of cooperative educationconcerning the Act of the Cooperative Education Implementation in Senior High Schools and the Protection of Student Participants' Rights, cooperative education training contracts and other relationspertaining to cooperative education.
3. Tort disputes due to violations of workplace gender equality, employment discrimination, occupational hazards, labor unions and protesting activities, non-competition and other tort disputes pertaining to labor relations.
Any civil case pertinent to the aforementioned case, as described in the preceding paragraph, may be filedwith, or added to, or interpose as a counterclaim with the aforementioned case.

The term "worker," as mentioned in this Act, refers to the following persons:
1. Employees or persons insubordinate positions who are paid to perform labor.
2. Technical apprentices, foster workers, interns, cooperative education students, trainees, and other workers in positions of a nature similar to apprentices.
3. Job seekers.
The term "employer," as mentioned in this Act, refers to the following persons:
1. Persons who hire others to work, persons who exercise management duties on behalf of an employer, or persons who perform substantialsupervision and management over dispatched workersin accordance with dispatch contracts.
2. Persons or institutions of cooperative education who recruit apprentices, foster workers, interns, cooperative education students, trainees, and other workers in positions of a nature similar to apprentices.
3. Persons who recruit job seekers.

For the purpose of handling labor cases, courts of all levels shall establish Labor Professional Courts (hereinafter referred to as Labor Courts). However, a court with a limited number of judicial staff may set up a special focus divisionin place of a labor court.
The position of labor court judges, as mentioned in the preceding paragraph, shall beserved by judges who have relevant knowledge and experience in labor law.
The Judicial Yuan shall make determinations on matters relating to the establishment of a labor courts or special focus divisions, theirjob assignment allocations with civil courts, and the qualifications, selecting methods and the terms of servingjudges, as well as other relevant matters.

For labor caseswith plaintiffworkers, if the location where the labor service is provided, or the location of the defendant's domicile, residence, office, or business, is within the territory of the Republic of China, the case falls under the jurisdiction of the Republic of China.
If any jurisdiction agreement of labor cases is in violation of the provisions of the preceding paragraph, the worker is not bound by such agreement.

For labor cases with plaintiffworkers, the court of the region where the defendant's domicile, residence, main business, or main office is located, or where the plaintiff provides labor service, shall have the jurisdiction over the case. For labor cases with plaintiff employers, the court of the region where the defendant's domicile or residence is located, or where current or the last labor service is/was provided, shall have the jurisdiction over the case.
For cases with plaintiff employers, as described in the preceding paragraph, the workerinvolved in the case may petition to transfer the caseto the jurisdictional court of his choice before the beginning of oral arguments. However, the said provisions do not applyto the cases whichcontinue after the parties fail to reach an agreement inlabor mediation.
The ruling relating to the petition as described in the preceding paragraph may be appealed.

Concerning the jurisdiction agreement for the first instance in labor cases,if one of the parties is aworker, and the agreement isclearly unfair, theworker may initiate an action directly in othercourts that has jurisdiction. If the workeris the defendant, the worker may petition to transfer the case to otherjurisdictional court of his/her selection prior to the start of the oral arguments of the trial; however, the said provisions do not apply to the cases which continue after the parties fail to reach an agreement in labor mediation.
The ruling relating to the petition as described in the preceding paragraph may be appealed.

When handling labor cases, a court should proceed in an expeditious manner, formulate plans for mediation or trial, and conduct mediations or oral arguments in due course.
All parties involved in an action shall cooperate in good faith with the progress of the procedures as described in the preceding paragraph, and submit facts and evidence in due course.

The worker may be accompanied by an assistant selected within the purpose as provided in the charter of the labor union or the legal foundation,and the provisions of Paragraph 1, Article 76 of the Taiwan Code of Civil Procedure, concerning the requirement for the presiding judge's permission, shall not apply.
The labor union, legalfoundation, andthe assistant, as mentioned in the preceding paragraph, shall not ask the worker for compensation.
If the aforementionedassistant, as mentioned in the first paragraph, is not suitable to perform acts of litigation, or his/her behavior violates the interest of the worker, the presiding judge may issue a ruling during the proceeding, prohibiting such a person from being the assistant.
The provisions of the preceding paragraph shall apply mutatis mutandis to a Preliminary Proceeding conducted by a commissioned judge.

When a foreign worker engaging in jobs as prescribed in Subparagraph8 to 10, Paragraph 1, Article 46 of the Employment Services Act, with the permission of the presiding judge, appoints the person in charge of the privately owned employment service agency, its staff, employee, or staff member as his/her agent for the lawsuit, and such person harms the rights or interests of the foreign worker, the presiding judge may rule to revoke the permission for such representation.

If an action arises involving regular payments, its claim value shall be the total amount of income assumed for the entire duration of the right to such a payment. If such a duration is not determined, the duration of the right should be presumed. However, if the duration is more than five years, a duration of five years shall apply.

If a worker or alabor union initiates an action or files an appeal for the confirmation of the existence of employment relationship, wages payment, pensions, or severance fees, two-thirds of the court cost may be temporarily waived.
If a compulsory enforcement of aforementioned action is petitioned as described in the preceding paragraph, and the claim value of the enforcement is more than two hundred thousand New Taiwan Dollars, the enforcement fee shalltemporarily be waived on the excess portion of the claim, and shallbe deducted later from theproceeds derived from the compulsory enforcement.

In cases where alabor union initiates an action pursuant to Article 44-1 of the Taiwan Code of Civil Procedure, and Article 42 of this Act, and the price or value of the claim is more than one million New Taiwan Dollars, the court costs ofthe excess portion of the claimshalltemporarily bewaived.
In cases where a labor union initiates an action pursuant to Article 40 of this Act, courtcosts are waived.

When workers who meet the criteria of low-income family and middle-low income family as stipulated in the Social Relief Act, or who meet the requirements of family-in-hardship as stipulated in Paragraph 1,Article 4 of the Act of Assistance for Family in Hardship, petition for litigation aid, they shall be deemed indigent and unable to pay litigation costs.
When a worker or his/her surviving family members initiate(s) a labor lawsuit as a result of an occupational accident, on a motion, the court shall rule to grant legal aid. However, this rule does not apply tocases thathaveno chance to win.

Matters relating to labor actions shall be governed by the provisions of this Act. For any matters other than prescribed herein, Taiwan Code of Civil Procedure and the Compulsory Enforcement Act shall apply.