Japanese train driver posthumously awarded 56 yen in docked wages

The Okayama District Court ordered West Japan Railway Co (JR West) to return 56 yen it had deducted from the pay of one of its train drivers, who has since died, over a one-minute delay in 2020.

While the court found that the pay cut made by the Okayama branch of JR West was improper, it dismissed the man's supplementary claim for 2.2 million yen in emotional anguish compensation.

The time an employee spent correcting faults made in regard to tasks provided by JR West was still considered labor for completing obligations, according to Presiding Judge Hisanori Okuno.

The court emphasized that the one-minute delay constituted labor and was therefore subject to wage payment because the man understood his mistake and moved quickly to fix it.

According to the complaint, the male employee waited at the wrong platform for an empty train he was entrusted with conveying to the depot while on duty at JR Okayama Station in western Japan in June 2020, causing the work to be performed two minutes late.

Following guidance from the Okayama labor standards inspection office, JR West decreased the two-minute delay to one minute and removed 85 yen from the man's earnings, alleging he did not perform any labor during that period.

The individual sued his company in March 2021, arguing that the said one minute was part of his working hours.

JR West attempted but failed to reach an out-of-court settlement.

The man, who was in his 50s, died of an illness earlier this year.