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Labor Union and Labor Standards Office MattersFrom collective bargaining requests to Labor Standards Inspection Office investigations and correction recommendations, our attorneys act for the employer and prepare the response letters and reports.

Free consultation Why LegalAgent
Response time
1 business day*
First consultation
30 min free
Scope
Collective bargaining · Inspections · Correction recommendations

* As a rule, for contract reviews and routine legal questions. For complex or urgent matters we propose a schedule that fits the matter.

Client companies served*

150+

Selected clients shown, in no particular order. * Clients and partners. Not limited to Labor Union and Labor Standards Office Matters matters.

KADOKAWA FRONTEO YAMAP ACROVE LAPRAS AVA Intelligence OPTIEUM Biotechnologies ReDelta Concrew LINEA Innovations TECHSUITE YStory

Building your bargaining and inspection response from the initial document review

We act for employers on collective bargaining requests from labor unions, including general unions, and on Labor Standards Inspection Office investigations and correction recommendations. We first review what the request or notice says, the history with the employees concerned and your internal documents, and take the work as far as drafting response letters grounded in the duty to bargain in good faith and corrective action reports. We also sort out in advance who will answer what, and how far, at the bargaining table.

  • A collective bargaining request has arrived and the response deadline is close
  • You cannot decide what to submit for a labor inspection
  • You do not know how far to go in responding to a correction recommendation
  • The attendees and the scope of answers for bargaining are not yet decided

Why LegalAgent

With LegalAgent, you can settle your company's response policy by the deadline

We support the employer's response in three ways: fast answers, fees you know before we start, and response letters and records you can use as they are at the bargaining table.

  1. 01Speed

    Typical law firms3–5 business days

    LegalAgent1 business day, as a rule

    We work back from response and submission deadlines

    We answer contract reviews and routine legal questions within one business day as a rule. When there is a deadline for answering a bargaining request or for submitting documents to the Labor Standards Inspection Office, we start with the items that need to be sorted out first.

  2. 02Fees

    Hourly billingTotal unknown at the start

    LegalAgentScope and fee set before we start

    Sessions and scope confirmed before we start

    We ask whether the counterparty is an in-house union or a general union, how many sessions are expected and whether we need to attend, and give you an estimate before we start. If bargaining runs to more sessions than expected, we update the estimate and explain it to you.

  3. 03Deliverables

    • Draft response letter
    • Draft corrective action report
    • Bargaining record template
    • Anticipated Q&A memo

    We keep bargaining records you can use to explain later

    We set up a template for recording what is said at each session and the union's assertions, so that the records can serve as material when you explain the course of negotiations to the Labor Relations Commission or within the company.

* Response times are for contract reviews and routine legal questions; they vary by matter.

How it works

The AI Agent organizes the history; attorneys decide how far to answer

The AI Agent organizes the facts from the requests, notices and attendance records you provide and prepares first drafts; attorneys decide the scope of the answers and whether a response could constitute an unfair labor practice.

AI Agentdoes the work

  • Organizes bargaining items and deadlines from requests and notices
  • Refers to past responses and response letter templates
  • Drafts response letters and corrective action reports

Attorneysmake the judgment

  • Decide the scope of answers in light of the duty to bargain in good faith
  • Judge whether a response could constitute an unfair labor practice
  • Take responsibility for the final response letters and reports
ConsultationSupport on the day of bargaining or investigation
  1. STEP 01Reviewing the request or notice

    Confirm the bargaining items or matters under investigation and the response or submission deadline, and identify the facts to be organized at the outset

    Initial review memo and response schedule

  2. STEP 02Organizing the facts and documents

    Review the documents relevant to the bargaining items or points raised, and set out the company's position and the issues

    Issues memo and the other side's anticipated assertions

  3. STEP 03Preparing the response letter or documents for submission

    Draft the response letter or documents for submission to the Labor Standards Inspection Office, and set out the response policy for the day of bargaining or the investigation

    Draft response letter or set of documents for submission, and a response policy memo

  4. STEP 04Support and record-keeping on the day of bargaining or the investigation

    Attend or sit in, record what is said during bargaining or the investigation, and set out points to watch for the next response

    Bargaining or investigation records, and a memo on points to watch for the next response

  • Attorneys make the final callAn attorney checks every deliverable and takes responsibility for it.
  • Your inputs are not used to train AIOn top of attorneys' statutory duty of confidentiality, we work in an environment where your inputs are not used to train AI.
  • An AI Agent built in-houseOur own engineers develop it. Information Security Policy

Use cases

Common requests and what you receive

Starting from either a collective bargaining request or a Labor Standards Inspection Office investigation or corrective recommendation, this map sets out the impact of neglecting or mishandling it, our support and the deliverables.

  1. 01

    A general union has sent a collective bargaining request concerning a former employee who was dismissed

    If left aloneThe first session arrives before the bargaining items and the company's position have been organized by the response deadline, and a careless answer becomes an issue of unfair labor practice

    What we doReview the bargaining items in the request, the history leading to the dismissal and the evidence, and consider what the response letter should say and who will attend in what roles

    What you receive
    • Draft response letter
    • Collective bargaining strategy memo
    • Anticipated questions and answers memo

  2. 02

    A notice of investigation has arrived from the Labor Standards Inspection Office, and you do not know how to prepare

    If left aloneMistakes in the scope of documents submitted or in explanations leave the company on the back foot on the day of the investigation, and the scope of the investigation expands

    What we doReview the notice and the matters covered, and set out the scope of documents to submit and the response policy for the day of the investigation

    What you receive
    • List of documents to submit
    • Anticipated questions memo
    • Investigation response policy memo

  3. 03

    You have received a corrective recommendation and want to confirm how to proceed with the response and the report

    If left aloneReporting with an inadequate response to the required corrections leads to further guidance or an additional investigation

    What we doReview the points raised in the corrective recommendation and actual internal practice, and set out the corrective measures and the scope of what the report should say

    What you receive
    • Plan for carrying out corrective measures
    • Draft corrective action report
    • Internal record templates

  4. 04

    Collective bargaining has become protracted, and you are considering how to break the deadlock

    If left aloneThe course of each session has not been recorded systematically, and explanatory materials for the next negotiation strategy or a move to the Labor Relations Commission have not been prepared

    What we doReview the course of negotiations so far and how the union's assertions have shifted, and set out the future negotiation strategy and how to keep records

    What you receive
    • Table summarizing the course of negotiations
    • Memo on future response policy
    • Internal explanatory materials

Scope of our support for labor union and Labor Standards Office matters

For both collective bargaining and responding to Labor Standards Inspection Office investigations and corrective recommendations, we show the documents we review, the judgments we make and the deliverables.

Collective bargaining
From reviewing the request to preparing bargaining records, we organize the response at each phase of the negotiations.
  • Reviewing the collective bargaining request and organizing the initial response
  • Preparing the response letter and negotiation strategy
  • Support for bargaining records and building evidence
Labor Standards Inspection Office investigations and corrective recommendations
From preparing for a notice of investigation to preparing the corrective action report, we support each stage of the administrative response.
  • Support in preparing for a notice of investigation
  • Organizing the response to corrective recommendations
Analyzing unfair labor practice risks
We check whether the company's handling is appropriate so that the handling of collective bargaining itself does not become an unfair labor practice issue.
  • Checking whether the bargaining response could constitute an unfair labor practice

Our approach

What we focus on in Labor Union and Labor Standards Office Matters

In labor union and Labor Standards Inspection Office matters, we focus on the following points.

  1. 01

    Making the duty to bargain in good faith concrete for each bargaining situation

    We turn the abstract duty to bargain in good faith into concrete actions for each actual bargaining situation, such as how answers are prepared, how much material is presented and how the next session date is set.

  2. 02

    Keeping bargaining records not as a record of conflict but as material for later explanation

    We consider how to keep what was said and how negotiations progressed not as a record that emphasizes conflict, but as material that can be used later to explain the course of events to the Labor Relations Commission or within the company.

  3. 03

    Reviewing the inspection office response and collective bargaining together

    Because matters covered by a Labor Standards Inspection Office investigation may overlap with bargaining items, we review both responses in parallel so that the documents prepared and the explanations given do not contradict each other.

  4. 04

    Clarifying attendees' authority and the scope of answers before bargaining

    We set out in advance who may answer what at the table, avoiding unfavorable agreements from immediate answers beyond one's authority.

Pricing

Fees for labor union and Labor Standards Office matters

For collective bargaining and Labor Standards Inspection Office matters, the work required varies greatly with the type of counterparty and the scope of the points raised, so we provide an estimate after hearing the circumstances. As a basis for the estimate, we confirm the following points.

How fees are set

Scope and fee agreed before we start

Matter-based work is generally on a fixed fee. For complex or urgent matters, we propose a schedule and an estimate that fit the matter.

First consultation

A free 30-minute online meeting.

You can come to us before your documents are in order. Tell us what you know so far.

Free consultation

What we check before quoting

  • The counterparty in collective bargaining (an in-house union or a general union) and the scope of the bargaining items
  • The scope of the matters covered by the Labor Standards Inspection Office investigation or corrective recommendation
  • Whether attendance or sitting in on the day of bargaining or the investigation is needed
  • Whether collective bargaining is expected to span multiple sessions
  • Whether an ongoing labor advisory arrangement is needed

The fee structure may change depending on the scope of work, for example where collective bargaining spans multiple sessions or where the work extends from responding to the Labor Standards Inspection Office to preparing the corrective action report.

Team & Record

Attorneys who know business practice handle your matters

Contract reviews and drafts
2,000+
Client companies
150+
Startup legal matters
200+
Legal and investment DD
20+

* Approximate figures based on matters handled by our firm; actual figures vary by matter.

Engineers

Shinya Makita and Sota Miya build our product on the same team as the attorneys.

Practical guides to labor union and Labor Standards Inspection Office matters

Collective bargainingHow a Company Should Respond to a Request for Collective Bargaining: Community Unions, the Duty to Bargain in Good Faith and Collective Agreements

For a company that has received a request letter for collective bargaining from a community union or another union, this article explains what to check by the response deadline, how to prepare the written response and the minutes in light of the duty to bargain in good faith under Article 7, Item 2 of the Labor Union Act, the requirements for turning an agreement into a collective agreement, and the Labor Relations Commission procedures.

Related practice areas

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Can we consult you right after receiving a collective bargaining request?

You can consult us right after receiving the request. After confirming the bargaining items, the response deadline and your communications with the employee concerned so far, we proceed with preparing the response letter.

We have been contacted by the Labor Standards Inspection Office about an investigation. Can we consult you even if our documents are not well organized?

You can consult us even if your documents are not yet well organized. After confirming the matters covered by the notice of investigation, we set out the scope of documents to submit and how to proceed with preparation.

Can we also consult you on this page about unpaid overtime claims or dismissal disputes with individual employees?

Individual matters with individual employees, such as unpaid overtime claims, dismissals and harassment, and related labor tribunal proceedings and litigation, are covered on the Labor and HR page. This page focuses on collective bargaining with labor unions and responding to Labor Standards Inspection Office investigations and corrective recommendations. If a matter spans both individual and collective issues, you can consult us starting with how to separate them.

Can an attorney attend the collective bargaining session?

We consider attending depending on the circumstances. We will propose whether attendance is needed and how roles should be divided on the day after confirming the bargaining items and the company's internal response structure.

If we receive a corrective recommendation, can we ask you to prepare the corrective action report as well?

We handle everything from organizing the corrective measures to drafting the corrective action report. Even if the reporting deadline is close, we confirm the scope of the points raised and prioritize accordingly.

Can we consult you partway through if collective bargaining has already become protracted?

You can consult us partway through negotiations. After reviewing the course of negotiations and the records so far, we set out the future negotiation strategy.

Can you handle it on this page if a company-wide misconduct investigation becomes necessary?

Company-wide investigations of misconduct are covered on the Crisis Management and Internal Investigations page. If a company-wide investigation becomes necessary in the course of collective bargaining or a Labor Standards Inspection Office response, please consult us about that as well.

Can you handle urgent matters where the response or submission deadline is close?

We also handle matters where the response or submission deadline is close. After reviewing the request or notice, we start with the items that need to be organized first.

Contact

Talk to us about collective bargaining and labor inspections

Please tell us the content of the documents you currently have, such as the collective bargaining request, the notice from the Labor Standards Inspection Office or the corrective recommendation.

  • A free 30-minute online first meeting
  • You can consult us right after receiving a bargaining request
  • You can consult us even partway through protracted bargaining