"Have Your Husband Look After the Kid": Court Rules Supervisor's Pressure Constitutes Workplace Harassment

A court has ruled that telling a subordinate employee who was trying to take annual leave, "Tell your husband to look after the child," constitutes workplace harassment.

The Seoul Administrative Court's Administrative Division 12 recently ruled against the plaintiff, an official identified as A, a mid-level supervisor at a district office in Seoul, in a lawsuit filed against the head of the district office to cancel a pay cut disciplinary action.

A was investigated for exerting pressure on an employee several times, including saying, "Have your husband look after the child," when the employee tried to take leave to care for a child.

In addition, while receiving a work report, A told the subordinate employee, "Don't try to explain it to me," and pointed out to an employee with no attendance issues by saying, "You came in late, what time did you arrive?"

Following disciplinary action resulting in a pay cut for these remarks, A filed a lawsuit claiming the disciplinary action was unfair, arguing that the statements were merely at the level of everyday conversation.

However, the court ruled that each of A's statements amounted to workplace harassment.

First, the court pointed out that the remark "Have your husband look after the child" makes it difficult to use annual leave legitimately and amounts to interference in personal life rather than work.

It also noted that the statement "Don't try to explain it to me" exceeded the appropriate scope of work by blocking reporting or explanations, and added that "it likely created a sense of unjustified pressure on the counterpart, resulting in a constrained work environment."

The court also judged that the remark "You came in late" was not a matter of addressing tardiness or attendance issues, but rather seemed intended to pressure the employee to arrive before the standard starting time.

The bench ruled that the level of disciplinary action was appropriate, stating, "Considering the importance of the public interest in preventing workplace harassment and establishing discipline in the public service sector, the pay cut cannot be seen as excessive compared to A's misconduct."

Reported by Jung Da-eun | Video by Na Hong-hee | Graphics by Lee Jung-joo | Produced by SBS Digital News
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.