Japanese high court rules indefinite-term contract worker entitled to equal pay for equal work

Summary

A female worker at an off-track horse racing betting venue in Aomori Prefecture, Japan, received a government pamphlet about "work style reform" in 2019, which led her to realize she was experiencing unequal pay for equal work. Despite working full-time with an indefinite contract—the same as regular employees—she received lower wages and no benefits. She sued her employer, Tohoku Eizo (a TV Iwate group company), demanding "equal pay for equal work" under the new law. The case resulted in a high court ruling that extended equal pay protections to workers without fixed employment terms, even though such provisions were not explicitly written in the law. The woman had been hired in 2002 under the promise of becoming a regular employee but was classified as a "contract employee" (嘱託).