Japan Airlines Fined for Age Discrimination

Taipei City’s Department of Labor Affairs has fined Japan Airlines (JAL) 600,000 Taiwan dollars (20,000 USD) for age discrimination:

The fine stemmed from a layoff in July of 70 Taiwanese flight attendants, including 18 senior employees who were close to retirement — a move that violated the Employment Services Act (就業服務法), the department said.

“Japan Airlines fully realized that the employees were senior members with excellent performance records and higher salaries. The move to lay off senior workers was an act of age discrimination,” commissioner of the department Chen Yeh-shin (陳業鑫) said.

The employees who were laid off have protested against their dismissal and filed a complaint with the department in August, accusing the airline of workplace discrimination.

The employees said that while JAL had cited financial difficulties as the reason, the layoff targeted people who were Taiwanese or female, and the Taiwanese flight attendants were soon replaced by Japanese.

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