A new General Labor Law (NGLL) was enacted by Law No. 12/23, of 27 December 2023, which came into force on March 26, 2024.The NGLL repealed the former General Labor Law (approved by Law No. 7/15, of June 15, 2015),...more
Under the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (known as the Closing Loopholes Act), as of January 1, 2025, intentional underpayment of employees’ wages and certain benefits will be a criminal offense, with a maximum of 10 years’...more
On December 13, 2023, the Legislative Chamber of Costa Rica passed Bill No. 23,449, “Protección de las personas denunciantes y testigos de actos de corrupción contra represalias laborales” (Law for the protection of...more
12/27/2023
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Corruption ,
Costa Rica ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
International Labor Laws ,
Labor Reform ,
Pending Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
The Global Guide Quarterly (GGQ) is a newsletter Littler publishes on a quarterly basis to provide a general update on global labor and employment (L&E) law developments in key countries in the American, EMEA, and APAC...more
Over the course of the World Cup, we have been publishing our own matchups, comparing various aspects of labor and employment law in some of the participating countries. Parts One and Two of this series examined timeouts...more
Welcome to week 2 of our Littler World Cup series, where we compare various aspects of labor and employment law in some of the countries competing the following week. In Part 1 of this series, we examined paid vacation and...more
The World Cup starts November 20, 2022 and will end in mid-December. Soccer fans from around the globe will be tuning in for the matches, or perhaps even attending in person. We thought we’d set up our own employment law...more
Amendment to Alimony Law Grants More Time to Pay Christmas Bonus -
New Legislation Enacted -
Law No. 9788, which was published and came into effect on December 12, 2019, amends the Alimony Law to allow debtors to pay...more
On August 27, 2019, the Legislative Chamber passed bill no. 21.141, called “Law to Regulate Remote Working,” which was published on the official gazette on September 30, 2019, as Law no. 9738. This law represents the first...more
Costa Rica | Additional Provisions of the Tax Plan Enforceable as of July 1, 2019 -
New Legislation Enacted -
On July 1, 2019, additional provisions of Law No. 9635, commonly known as the “Fiscal Reform,” came into...more
7/23/2019
/ Costa Rica ,
Economic Downturn ,
Expatriates ,
Financial Crisis ,
Foreign Workers ,
International Labor Laws ,
Labor Regulations ,
Nicaragua ,
Panama ,
Strike ,
Taxation ,
Value-Added Tax (VAT) ,
Work Permits
On March 18, 2019, the Legislative Chamber amended the Law for the Promotion of the Social Equality of Women. This reform adds three new articles to the law, to strengthen the legal requirement for all employers to pay men...more
Costa Rica | General Strike by Public Sector Employees Paralyzes Services -
Trend-
As of September 10, 2018, several of the largest unions in Costa Rica have been in an indefinite strike, with no end in sight. ...more
10/18/2018
/ Costa Rica ,
Disability Discrimination ,
HIV ,
International Labor Laws ,
Minimum Wage ,
New Legislation ,
Nicaragua ,
Panama ,
Public Employees ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Right to Strike ,
Wage and Hour
Costa Rica: New Bill Proposes Paternity Leave -
Proposed Bill or Initiative -
In June 2018, the Legislative Chamber introduced a bill to establish paternity leave. Under this proposal, male employees would be entitled...more
8/2/2018
/ Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Construction Industry ,
Costa Rica ,
Disability ,
El Salvador ,
Employee's Childcare ,
International Labor Laws ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Panama ,
Paternity Leave ,
Proposed Legislation
On July 25, 2017, Law No. 9343, known as the “Labor Procedure Reform” (LPR), became effective. By amending 348 articles of the Labor Code, the LPR overhauls nearly half of the country’s labor and employment laws,...more
On October 31, 2016, Costa Rica’s National Wages Council (“Consejo Nacional de Salarios”) approved a proposal to change the formula and timeframe of wage increases for employees in the private sector. With the new...more