"Discipline" (chōkai) — a miserable word if there ever was one. Being scolded as a child is part of growing up, but for us adults, being disciplined can be a particularly humiliating experience. But how much more humiliated would we feel if the grounds for the discipline were arbitrary, unfair or out of proportion? Do employers even have the legal right to discipline their employees? If so, are there any restraints, or can they discipline at will?

Labor law scholars split into two camps regarding the right to discipline. One advocates a theory called koyūkensetsu, asserting that the right to discipline is inherent to the practice of running a business. The other, keiyakusetsu, claims that the right derives solely from an agreement or contract between employer and employee. Without specifying any legal basis for the right to discipline, courts have proceeded on the assumption that employers have that right and have turned their attentions to drawing the line between legitimate and illegitimate disciplinary measures.

In the well-known Fuji Kosan case, the Supreme Court Petty Bench ruled on Oct. 10, 2003, that employers must stipulate in advance the disciplinable offenses, as well as the type and degree of discipline, in the shūgyō kisoku official work rules (see also "Work-rules verdict jars with laws aimed at leveling playing field for employees," Labor Pains, Sept. 18). This is covered by Articles 89 and 91 of the Labor Standards Law. (Note that in the law, chōkai is called seisai, or "sanction.")