Taipei, Dec. 27 (CNA) Books.com.tw could be fined up to NT$3 million (US$97,677) for never giving a cleaner an employment contract during the 21 years she worked for the company and denying her basic benefits in violation of the Labor Standards Act, Taipei's Department of Labor said Monday.
Chen You-xin (陳又新), an attorney who has helped the worker with legal issues, accused the retailer on Dec. 23 of exploiting the cleaner's illiteracy to trick her into signing annual work contracts rather than an employment contract even though they had an employer-employee relationship.
The cleaner only realized she had been treated as a contractor who is not eligible for benefits rather than as a permanent employee after Books.com.tw told her recently it would not renew her contract, Chen said.
The Labor Department concurred after conducting a labor inspection at the online retailer Monday even though Books.com.tw reached a confidential settlement with the cleaner on Saturday.
It said Books.com.tw and the cleaner were in fact in an employer-employee relationship.
That was seen in the cleaner's contract, which set restrictions on her working hours and place of work, required that she follow the company's instructions, and stated that the cleaning materials she used would be provided by the company, the department said.
Those all established a legal link proving a relationship between employers and employees as governed by the Labor Standards Act, the department said.
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