The labor ministry has decided to name discrimination against sexual minorities as a form of harassment in guidelines for employers.

A committee under the ministry’s Labor Policy Council agreed that the revision should be made to the guidelines, which are to be implemented in January.

The current guidelines set up under the Equal Employment Opportunity Law stipulate that any language or actions that are sexual in nature and directed toward or between employees should be regarded as sexual harassment.

They require employers to make efforts toward preventing discriminatory language or actions in the workplace by providing employees with guidance and establishing regulations to reprimand people found to be at fault.

However, they don’t specify that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people be subject to protection against such sexual harassment.

The revised guidelines will prohibit such harassment against LGBT people by clearly stating that the law applies to any victims “regardless of their sexual orientation and identity.”

An advocacy group fighting discrimination against LGBT workers said Monday that even more will be needed to ensure that companies address the issue of workplace discrimination.