"「せめて同僚には伝えたい」涙ながらの訴えもスルー　口止めされた「労働審判」の違法性", 5 Jan 2020

[Japanese-to-English translation provided by the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre.]

On 1 December 2020, the Nagaski District Court (Judge Daigo Furukawa) ruled in favor a man who had sued the state. In his lawsuit, he alleged that he had suffered emotional pain after a labour tribunal committee handed down a decision in his employment termination case that included a non-disclosure condition. The judge found that the non-disclosure order was illegal and that the committee did not take adequate considerations. However, the court did not award compensation for the complainant.

The complainant filed a complaint with the labour tribunal committee after he was terminated from his job as a driver for a bus company. The committee members proposed a solution that included a non-disclosure agreement in return for the company compensating him for 2300,000 yen. However, the complainant refused the proposal.

Crying, he gave his reason for refusing the offer, stating he wanted to share the news with his colleagues, who had supported his emotionally through the tribunal process. However, the committee ultimately issued a decision that included the non-disclosure condition.

This case is believed to be the first time a court ruled a non-disclosure condition issued by the labour tribunal committee is illegal…