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
A new law in Puerto Rico provides several pay and anti-discrimination protections for athletes on account of their pregnancies. A separate sports-related employment law extends leave protections for eligible athletes, coaches...more
10/9/2023
/ Athletes ,
Employee Rights ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
Pregnancy ,
Pregnancy Discrimination ,
Puerto Rico ,
Sports ,
Wage and Hour
On August 8, 2023, Puerto Rico’s government enacted Act No. 88-2023, known as the “Puerto Rican Military Code of the 21st Century” (“Military Code”). This new law supersedes the previously enacted Military Code of Puerto Rico...more
Pursuant to the recently enacted Act No. 82 of August 8, 2023, employers in Puerto Rico must consider an informal caregiver’s request for a work-schedule change without meeting some of the threshold requirements required by...more
On June 20, 2022, Governor Pedro Pierluisi signed into law Act No. 41-2022, instituting drastic changes to labor and employment laws in Puerto Rico and extending employment rights for employees in the private sector. In doing...more
6/22/2022
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Bonuses ,
Employee Rights ,
Employees ,
Employment Contract ,
Labor Reform ,
Minimum Wage ,
New Legislation ,
Puerto Rico ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Wage and Hour
Puerto Rico Governor Wanda Vázquez recently signed into law Puerto Rico’s new Electoral Code, Act No. 58 of June 20, 2020 (Act No. 54-2020). The Electoral Code includes noteworthy changes to employees’ voting rights....more
Constructive discharge is a form of wrongful termination under the Puerto Rico Unjust Dismissal statute, Act No. 80 of May 30, 1976 (“Act 80”). Unlike in traditional wrongful termination cases, plaintiffs alleging...more
On March 14, 2020, new Puerto Rico Department of Labor and Human Resources Regulations to administer the Equal Pay Program will come into effect. The Regulations were enacted pursuant to Act. No. 16 of March 8, 2017, as...more
3/10/2020
/ Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Pay ,
Equal Pay Act ,
Gender Equity ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Job Applicants ,
Labor Regulations ,
New Regulations ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Pay Gap ,
Puerto Rico ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
State and Local Government ,
Wage and Hour
Act No. 83 of August 1, 2019, (Act 83) provides up to 15 days of unpaid leave, and/or reasonable accommodation, for employees who are themselves victims of abusive situations, or have a close family member who is. ...more
On August 1, 2019, just a day prior to his resignation as Governor of Puerto Rico, Ricardo Rosselló signed into law Act No. 83 of August 1, 2019 (“Act 83” or “the Act”), a very detailed leave statute applicable to public and...more
8/9/2019
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Domestic Violence ,
Employee Rights ,
Labor Regulations ,
New Legislation ,
Puerto Rico ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Stalking ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Unpaid Leave
Act No. 2 of October 17, 1961 (Act 2) created a procedural process for the expeditious adjudication of employment claims in Puerto Rico. Among other ways to streamline the process, Act 2 bars the employer from filing a...more
An Employee’s Felony Indictment Constitutes Just Cause for Termination -
Precedential Decision by Judiciary or Regulatory Agency -
On April 25, 2019, the Puerto Rico Supreme Court held that a felony indictment...more
7/17/2019
/ Caregivers ,
Discrimination ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Felonies ,
Gender Identity ,
Hiring & Firing ,
International Labor Laws ,
Labor Regulations ,
New Regulations ,
Puerto Rico ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Sick Leave ,
Wage and Hour
As we have previously discussed, the Puerto Rico Department of Labor (PR DOL) recently published the first edition of its Guidelines on the Interpretation of Puerto Rico’s Employment Legislation (Guidelines), which includes...more
As we have previously discussed, the Puerto Rico Department of Labor (PR DOL) has recently published the first edition of its Guidelines on the Interpretation of Puerto Rico’s Employment Legislation (Guidelines), which...more
6/5/2019
/ Bonuses ,
Day of Rest Laws ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employment Contract ,
Holiday Pay ,
Over-Time ,
Puerto Rico ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
Severance Pay ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
Vacation Leave ,
Wage and Hour
The Puerto Rico Supreme Court (PRSC) recently held that that a felony indictment constitutes just cause for termination under Puerto Rico’s Unjust Dismissal statute, Act No. 80 of May 30, 1976 (Act 80)....more
5/8/2019
/ Appeals ,
Burden of Proof ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Felonies ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Just Cause ,
Puerto Rico ,
Summary Judgment ,
Supreme Court of Puerto Rico
New Regulation Adopted to Administer Unemployment Insurance -
New Regulation or Official Guidance -
On November 8, 2018, Puerto Rico’s Department of Labor and Human Resources published the Regulation to Administer the...more
On November 8, 2018, the Secretary of the Puerto Rico Department of Labor and Human Resources published a new regulation governing the administration of Puerto Rico's unemployment insurance program....more
The Puerto Rico Supreme Court (“PRSC”) recently issued an Opinion in the case of Roldán Flores v. M. Cuebas, 2018 TSPR 18, 199 D.P.R. __ (Feb. 6, 2018), in which it addressed again the requirements for applying the “successor...more
3/16/2018
/ Asset Purchase Agreements ,
Asset Purchaser ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Puerto Rico ,
Successor Liability ,
Summary Judgment ,
Supreme Court of Puerto Rico ,
Transfer of Assets ,
Wrongful Termination
On December 6, 2017, the Puerto Rico Secretary of the Department of Labor and Human Resources (“Secretary”) published the proposed Regulation to Administer Act No. 379 of May 15, 1948, as amended, known as Puerto Rico’s...more
On November 10, 2017, Puerto Rico's Secretary of the Department of Labor and Human Resources (“Secretary”) issued Opinion No. 2017-002 (“Opinion”) addressing allowable deductions from non-exempt employees’ pay following...more
On October 24, 2017, Puerto Rico's Secretary of the Department of Labor and Human Resources issued an Administrative Order granting an automatic extension for all employers required to file a Quarterly Unemployment and...more
The Secretary of the Puerto Rico Department of Labor and Human Resources (“PR DOL”) has issued a new regulation, effective October 18, 2017, to administer Puerto Rico’s Christmas Bonus Law, Act. No. 148 of June 30, 1969. The...more
On October 17, 2017, the Puerto Rico Secretary of Labor and Human Resources (Secretary) issued Opinion No. 2017-001 (Opinion) regarding the compensation of exempt and non-exempt private sector employees for workdays...more
10/18/2017
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Disaster Aid ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Hurricane Irma ,
Hurricane Maria ,
Loss of Income ,
Natural Disasters ,
Non-Exempt Employees ,
Puerto Rico ,
Wage and Hour
On January 26, 2017, the Governor of Puerto Rico approved the Labor Transformation and Flexibility Act (“the Act"). The Act makes substantial changes to virtually all existing Puerto Rico employment laws, including those...more
1/26/2017
/ Bonuses ,
Conflicts of Laws ,
Discrimination ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Rights ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
HSA ,
Independent Contractors ,
Maternity Leave ,
Over-Time ,
Puerto Rico ,
Qualified Benefit Plans ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Severance Pay ,
Sick Leave ,
Unemployment ,
Vacation Pay ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workers' Compensation Claim