Labor Standards Act Violation Lawyer | What Counts as a Violation and How to Get Paid or Reinstated

Labor Standards Act Violation | Unpaid Wages and Severance

Wages must be paid in full, directly to the worker, in currency, at least once a month on a fixed date (근로기준법 제43조). When an employer fails to do this, the unpaid amount does not disappear — it becomes a debt the employer must settle, and continued nonpayment after termination carries criminal exposure.

What counts as 'unpaid wages'

Unpaid wages include base salary, allowances, bonuses that are part of the wage structure, and unused annual leave that must be compensated in cash if not used (근로기준법 제60조). Even a partial shortfall — for example, being paid less than the minimum wage — is treated the same way as nonpayment (최저임금법 제6조).

The 14-day rule after termination

When employment ends, all wages and severance must be paid within 14 days unless both parties agree in writing to extend the deadline (근로기준법 제36조). Missing this deadline is itself a violation, separate from the underlying nonpayment.

Severance pay eligibility

Any employee who has worked continuously for one year or more, averaging at least 15 hours per week, is entitled to severance pay of at least one month's average wage per year of service (근로자퇴직급여 보장법 제8조). Employers sometimes misclassify workers as 'freelancers' or '3.3% contractors' to avoid this, but the actual working conditions — not the contract title — determine whether severance is owed.

Filing a wage claim report

A wage claim starts with filing a report at the regional Employment and Labor Office, which can investigate, mediate, and refer the employer for prosecution if nonpayment is confirmed (근로기준법 제112조). If the employer still does not pay, the case can move to civil enforcement or, in cases of company insolvency, the Wage Claim Guarantee Fund.

Labor Standards Act Violation | Unfair Dismissal and Notice Requirements

An employer cannot dismiss, suspend, or otherwise disadvantage a worker without justifiable cause (근로기준법 제23조). Dismissal disputes usually turn on two separate questions: was there a valid reason, and was the correct procedure followed.

30-day advance notice or pay in lieu

Except in narrow cases such as a worker's own serious misconduct, an employer must give at least 30 days' notice of dismissal or pay 30 days' ordinary wages in lieu of notice (근로기준법 제26조). Skipping both is a violation even if the dismissal itself turns out to be justified.

What counts as 'justifiable cause'

Justifiable cause generally requires a real, work-related reason — such as documented poor performance after warnings, misconduct, or a genuine business-necessity layoff with fair selection criteria — not simply the employer's preference. Vague reasons like 'poor fit with the team' rarely hold up on their own.

Filing for remedy at the Labor Relations Commission

A worker who believes a dismissal was unfair can file for remedy with the Labor Relations Commission within three months of the dismissal (근로기준법 제28조). The Commission can order reinstatement and back pay if the dismissal is found unfair; either side can appeal within 10 days to the National Labor Relations Commission and beyond that to the courts.

Constructive dismissal and forced resignation

Pressuring an employee to submit a resignation letter, or making conditions so difficult that quitting becomes the only realistic option, can be treated as dismissal in substance even without a formal notice. This is often the hardest fact pattern to prove and usually depends heavily on messages, emails, and witness accounts documenting the pressure.

Labor Standards Act Violation | Working Hours, Overtime, and Break Violations

Standard working hours are capped at 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week, and any hours beyond that require the worker's consent and extra pay (근로기준법 제50조, 제53조). Many disputes come down to whether time actually worked matches what was recorded and paid.

Overtime, night, and holiday premiums

Work beyond the standard hours, work between 10pm and 6am, and work on holidays each require an extra 50% on top of the ordinary hourly wage (근로기준법 제56조). These premiums can stack — for example, holiday overtime worked at night can trigger multiple add-ons at once.

The 52-hour weekly cap

Even with the worker's agreement, total weekly working hours including overtime generally cannot exceed 52 hours except under specific flexible or special arrangements permitted for certain industries (근로기준법 제53조). An employer routinely exceeding this cap is exposed regardless of whether the employee 'agreed' informally.

Proving unrecorded overtime

Because employers control time records, disputes often hinge on independent evidence: messenger logs, building access records, computer login times, or emails sent outside normal hours. Keeping a personal log of actual start and end times, ideally contemporaneously, substantially strengthens a later claim.

Labor Standards Act Violation | Workplace Bullying and Employer's Duty to Respond

Since 2019, employers have a legal duty to investigate reports of workplace bullying and take protective measures, and retaliating against a person who reports it is separately prohibited (근로기준법 제76조의2, 제76조의3). This turns what used to be treated as a purely interpersonal problem into a compliance obligation the employer can be held accountable for.

What qualifies as workplace bullying

The law covers conduct that causes physical or psychological harm to another worker or worsens the work environment, using position or relational advantage beyond the scope of appropriate work supervision (근로기준법 제76조의2). Repeated public humiliation, deliberate exclusion, and excessive unreasonable workloads assigned as punishment are commonly raised examples.

Employer obligations once a report is filed

On receiving a report, the employer must investigate promptly, take measures such as separating the parties or granting leave to the reporting employee during the investigation, and impose appropriate discipline on a confirmed perpetrator (근로기준법 제76조의3). Failing to investigate, or disadvantaging the person who reported it, is itself a separate violation with its own penalty.

Building a record before reporting

Because bullying cases often lack a single decisive piece of evidence, contemporaneous notes of dates, specific statements, and witnesses tend to matter more than a strong narrative alone. Screenshots of chat messages and any written warnings or HR correspondence should be preserved before, not after, filing a formal report.

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Official References

• Korea Law Information Center — https://www.law.go.kr
• Easy-to-Find Everyday Legal Information — https://easylaw.go.kr
• Korea Legal Aid Corporation — https://www.klac.or.kr
• Ministry of Employment and Labor — https://www.moel.go.kr