雇主對工會成員提起訴訟──不當勞動行為？雇主訴訟權之正當行使？

A Lawsuit Initiated by an Employer Against a Union Member - An Unfair Labor Practice? or Simply due Exercise of the Employer’s Right to Institute Legal Proceedings?

雇主對於工會成員提起訴訟是否構成工會法第35 條禁止之不當勞動行為？又是否因雇主對部分工會會員提起共同訴訟，或對於個別工會會員單獨提起訴訟而有不同？此涉及勞工結社權與雇主訴訟權之基本權衝突與調和之議題。本文嘗試整理我國行政法院相關判決之見解，及其中引用之美國聯邦最高法院裁判案例之判斷標準，作為參考。整體以言，雇主對勞工或工會成員提起訴訟，除非係出於明顯權利濫用之目的，欠缺事實或法律爭議之合理基礎，僅為惡意阻礙勞工行使勞動基本權或從事工會活動，否則應屬雇主訴訟權之正當行使，自應給予保障。

When an employer initiates a suit against a union member, does such action constitute “unfair labor practice” defined under Article 35 of the Labor Union Act? Furthermore, will the answer to the foregoing question differ if there is a joinder of suit against several union members as opposed to a suit against an individual union member? These questions involve the conflict and reconciliation of two fundamental rights - the laborers’ right of association and the employers’ right to institute legal proceedings. This article is an analysis of the relevant judgments rendered by the administrative courts in Taiwan and the standards of the U.S. Supreme Court in determining its rulings cited by such judgments. In general, when an employer initiates a suit against a union member, unless such action is filed in abuse of the employer’s rights i.e., presented without concrete facts and reasonable legal grounds, and being maliciously brought only to prevent the laborers from exercising their fundamental rights or participating in union activities, such suit shall constitute a proper exercise of the employer’s right to institute legal proceedings and shall thus be protected.