Labor law violations in Japanese public hospitals from March 2002 to March 2011

Abstract

Background: According to the Japan Pediatric Society, the mean extra work hours of hospital pediatricians in 2010 was approximately 80 h per month, which is the certification criterion for Karoshi (death from overwork), but there is no precise picture of personnel management at hospitals because the labor authorities do not disclose detailed statistics concerning labor law violations to the public.

Methods: Most local governments have a disclosure system, and the local governments that operate public hospitals were requested to disclose warning documents issued by the labor authorities from March 2002 to March 2011.

Results: A total of 208/369 public hospitals (56.4%) with ≥200 beds in Japan were warned of labor law violations. Offenses included exceeding the limit of working hours (177 hospitals) and non-payment of increased wages for night and holiday work (98 hospitals).

Conclusions: Many public hospitals in Japan did not always pay workers including physicians for increased workload because they do not regard night and holiday duties as work hours.