| dc.description.abstract | This work collects court judgments concerning construction labor safety in Taiwan from 1999 to 2001. These cases are grouped by jurisdictions, ie., criminal, civil and administrative courts. The cases in each group are organized and compared, according to labor safety laws and regulations.
The focus of this work includes (1) testing the standard of employer in law (ie., the subject of labor safety regulations), and (2) identification employer obligation of labor safety in construction, and (3) summarizing the associated legal liability. The true merit of this work lies in the necessity of court interpretation of labor safety laws and regulations, because the extent of legal wording is far from clear and operational by practitioners. In a sense, the ruling in court becomes the determining factor resulting in employers’ liability, rather than how the parties read the legal texts. Thus, the benefit of examining court interpretations of law is particular high.
It is concluded in this work, one of the key factor that puts one into labor safety dispute is whether an employer-worker relationship exists and is substantial. Then, when such relationships exist, there can still be of one-to-many type. Thus, the injured work (plaintiff) can decide whom to pursue with. The question now degenerates into which employer in law, when sued, will be burdened a maximum liability. Another rich area of dispute cause concerns employers’ many statutory obligations. As the so-called “due care” becomes unmanageable in reality, one can say disputes exist since day one of construction. Although these employer obligations can be met with more investment, the lowest bidder finds little incentive towards this mentality. The intriguing fact directs one to seek leeway to obligations. Again, court opinions on this matter are strong and worth highlighting.
The contribution of this work is a vehicle for practitioners to reach into hundreds of relevant and important legal opinions and interpretations concerning labor safety in construction. In future, a Management Information System may be built upon this outcome to assist in more experience and knowledge sharing in organizations. | en_US |