我國勞動基準法（下簡稱「勞基法」）第49條第1項違憲宣告失效後，關於夜間工作保護規範之建立，顯有急迫與必要性。本文針對勞動部提出勞基法有關夜間工作之修正草案，提出幾點看法，包括：夜間工作規範體系應置於勞基法第4章或第5章，與立法者對於夜間工作規範之定位有關。其次，職業安全衛生法（下簡稱「職安法」）對於夜間工作屬異常工作負荷易促發疾病之預防，雖訂有許多規定或指引，然兩法功能不同，勞基法關於夜間工作不再限制性別後，修正草案除將第49條調整為專對母性勞工之保護外，對於夜間工作之一般勞工僅有第52條之1，至於夜間工作每日工時上限、得否採變形制或延長工時；工作時間經常性落入「夜間」之範圍者，與僅偶然或於夜間工作頻率不高者，工時上限或調整是否應有不同限制；「夜間工作」之認定得否因行業差異或事業規模不同，得由工會協商調整；為及時發現夜間工作可能之危害，夜間工作者得否向雇主請求定期且免費之特殊健康檢查；能否因自身健康因素或照顧家庭成員之需請調白班。上述問題於本次勞基法之修正草案均未見規定，如均留白，夜間工作於勞基法另定規範之目的為何？能否節制、以避免長期夜間作業型態造成濫用，將是另一個問題的開始。

Following the nullification of Paragraph 1 of Article 49 of Taiwan’s Labor Standards Act, the establishment of regulations on night work protection has become urgent and necessary. This paper offers several viewpoints on the drafting of amendments to the Labor Standards Act on night work. First, regulations on night work must be placed in Chapter IV or V of the Labor Standards Act to protect night workers in a similar vein to the legal protection afforded to child workers and female workers; alternatively, they must be differentiated from labor condition-related protection afforded to night workers. Second, the provisions Occupational Safety and Health Act contains on the prevention of illness induced through an exceptional workload which night work is considered to behave a different function from the Labor Standards Act after the provisions on night work in the Labor Standards Act were broadened to include all workers and to remove all gender restrictions. In the proposed amendments, excluding revisions limiting the provisions of Article 49 specifically to workers who are mothers, only Article 52-1 stipulates a limit on daily work hours and whether flexible or longer work hours may be adopted. In these provisions, work hour limits and adjustments must differ between workers whose work hours regularly consist of nighttime hours and those who occasionally or infrequently work at night; the definition of night work can be debated and adjusted by groups or unions on the basis of industry differences or business scale. Furthermore, as part of efforts to identify the possible hazards of night work in a timely fashion, whether night workers can request regular and free special health examinations from their employers must be discussed. Whether they may transfer to day shifts for personal health or family care reasons must also be clarified. These matters are not addressed in the current proposed amendments to the Labor Standards Act, and, if they are neglected, then the purpose of the specific provisions on night work in the Labor Standards Act is in questions. The question of what this act protects specifically is a pressing topic of concern.