Browse through brief employment and labor law updates from around the globe. Contact a Littler attorney for more information or view our global locations.

View all Q2 2021 Global Guide Quarterly updates   Download full Q2 2021 Global Guide Quarterly

Newly Revised Regulations on Occupational Health Management at the Workplace

New Legislation Enacted

Author: Nancy Zhang, Special Counsel – Littler

The newly revised Regulations on Occupational Health Management at the Workplace, which came into effect in February 2021, clarify the employer’s responsibilities to prevent occupational disease. Employers must provide employees with work environment and conditions that comply with the laws, regulations and national occupational health standards and requirements. Moreover, employers must implement effective measures to protect employees' health.

Data Security Law Will Come into Effect on September 1, 2021

New Legislation Enacted

Author: Nancy Zhang, Special Counsel – Littler

On June 10, 2021, the National People’s Congress, China’s top legislative authority, passed the People’s Republic of China (PRC) Data Security Law (DSL), which will come into force on September 1, 2021. Under the new law, individuals, companies, and organizations have various degrees of responsibility for data security, and multiple competing regulators at the central and local level have enforcement responsibility. This adds a further layer to the existing system in the Cybersecurity Law.

Hefty Penalties Under the Revised Safety Production Law

New Legislation Enacted

Author: Nancy Zhang, Special Counsel – Littler

The revised Safety Production Law enhances liabilities on entities and people in charge of the entities. For example, it increases penalties for violations from “RMB 200,000 to 20 million” to “RMB 300,000 to 100 million yuan.” It also increases the fines for people in charge of the entity from “30% to 80%” of their annual income to “40% to 100%.” These provisions will become effective on September 1, 2021.

Second Draft Personal Information Protection Law Under Review

Proposed Bill or Initiative

Author: Nancy Zhang, Special Counsel – Littler

China issued a second version of the draft Personal Information Protection Law for public comments until May 28, 2021. As compared with the first version, the second version has some material changes, including: (1) The data processor is not required to obtain the consent of data subjects for processing publicly available personal information within a reasonable scope; (2) the processing of a minor’s personal information must meet a high standard; and (3) the Cyberspace Administration of China will provide a standard contract for cross-border data transfer.