The Taipei High Administrative Court has upheld a fine of NT$300,000 imposed by the Taoyuan City Government on a motel for not hiring a woman because she refused to meet its hair length requirement.
In a ruling made on Thursday last week, the High Administrative Court said the motel argued that it did not employ the female applicant, identified by her surname, Wang (王), because of her poor behavior during the interview process.
However, the court said it decided to uphold the decision to impose a fine because the motel wrote in its interview notes that the applicant was “currently short-haired” and “unwilling to change [her hairstyle] as required.”
Photo: Cheng Shu-ting, Taipei Times
The notes showed that the only reason for the company not hiring Wang was her appearance, the High Administrative Court said, concluding that the Taoyuan City Government’s fine was proper.
The ruling can be appealed.
The case dates to March 28, 2022, when Wang applied for a job working the night shift at the motel’s counter, it said.
During her interview, she declined the company’s request to wear long hair.
After not getting the job, Wang felt she was discriminated against and filed a formal complaint with Taoyuan City Government’s Department of Labor.
A local employment discrimination commission determined that the motel had violated Article 5-1 of the Employment Service Act (就業服務法), which prohibits employers from discriminating against job applicants based on race, class, language, appearance or other factors.
In August 2022, the commission fined the motel NT$300,000 and made public its name and the name of the person in charge.
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