The Puerto Rico Supreme Court recently issued a decision reaffirming the importance of just cause for employment terminations in Puerto Rico. Méndez Ruiz v. Techno Plastics Industries, Inc., No. 2025 TSPR 68 (June 26, 2025)....more
7/11/2025
/ Appeals ,
At-Will Employment ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Employment Litigation ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Just Cause ,
Puerto Rico ,
Retaliation ,
State Labor Laws ,
Supreme Court of Puerto Rico ,
Wrongful Termination
The Puerto Rico Supreme Court has issued a landmark decision limiting the deference that Puerto Rico courts owe to administrative agencies’ legal conclusions.
The ruling recalibrates the balance of power between courts and...more
6/3/2025
/ Administrative Agencies ,
Administrative Procedure Act ,
Chevron Deference ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Employment Litigation ,
Government Agencies ,
Independent Contractors ,
Judicial Review ,
Loper Bright Enterprises v Raimondo ,
Puerto Rico ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
Supreme Court of Puerto Rico
The Puerto Rico Supreme Court has reaffirmed that Puerto Rico courts lack subject-matter jurisdiction over employment claims that arguably involve unfair labor practices covered by the National Labor Relations Act...more
6/2/2025
/ Employee Rights ,
Employment Litigation ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Jurisdiction ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Preemption ,
Puerto Rico ,
Retaliation ,
State Labor Laws ,
Unions
Puerto Rico’s General Election Day will take place Nov. 5, 2024. Employers may operate on Election Day during their regular business hours, without any restrictions. However, employers should plan for employees taking time...more
According to Puerto Rico Secretary of Labor Gabriel Maldonado, neither the Constitution of Puerto Rico nor Puerto Rico Act 379 imposes any limitations on employers requiring overtime work of employees beyond paying a specific...more
Puerto Rico’s minimum wage will increase to $10.50 per hour from $9.50 per hour effective July 1, 2024. This increase was finally approved by the Minimum Wage Review Commission on June 13, 2024. With limited exceptions, the...more
The “Law to Facilitate the Implementation of Remote Work in the Private Sector and to Incentivize the Establishment of Airline Home Bases in Puerto Rico” regulates the employment relation of employees who work remotely from...more
The governor of Puerto Rico has issued Executive Order No. OE-2023-012, ending the state of emergency declared in 2020 due to the pandemic caused by the Coronavirus (COVID-19) and repealing multiple Executive Orders issued to...more
Less than a year after its enactment, a federal district court has declared null and void Puerto Rico Act 41-2022, a law that rolled back parts of the 2017 employment law reform. Financial Oversight and Management Board for...more
The Puerto Rico Fair Internships Act, Act No. 114-2022 (Act 114), seeks to protect students and recent graduates by guaranteeing paid internships and establishing other legal rights for interns....more
The Puerto Rico Department of Labor (PRDOL) has published the anticipated Model Protocol to Prevent and Manage Cases of Sexual Harassment in Employment....more
Puerto Rico has amended its sexual harassment law to expand coverage to interns and to require employers to adopt a protocol to investigate sexual harassment allegations....more
On September 1, 2022, the Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico (“Oversight Board”) – an entity created by Congress to supervise the finances of the government of Puerto Rico and restructure its public debt...more
Puerto Rico Governor Pedro Pierluisi has signed into law changes reversing portions of the 2017 employment reform law. House Bill 1244 (HB 1244) rolls back and changes the statutory probationary period, vacation and sick...more
Based on declining COVID-19 positivity rates and hospitalizations, and like other states and jurisdictions, Puerto Rico Governor Pedro R. Pierluisi has issued an executive order essentially dropping all COVID-19 measures....more
Months after its introduction, a proposal to reverse portions of the 2017 employment reform law sits on Puerto Rico Governor Pedro Pierluisi’s desk. By March 5, 2022, Governor Pierluisi must decide whether to veto House Bill...more
A surge in positive COVID-19 cases in Puerto Rico has Governor Pedro R. Pierluisi issuing yet another round of executive orders, including one that expands the number of workers that must obtain COVID-19 booster shots...more
Amidst increasing positive COVID-19 cases in Puerto Rico, Governor Pedro R. Pierluisi has issued an executive order requiring those working in healthcare and education settings to get vaccinated and boosted. Covered...more
12/27/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Educational Institutions ,
Executive Orders ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Immunization Records ,
Popular ,
Public Schools ,
Puerto Rico ,
Religious Exemption ,
Teachers ,
Vaccinations
In response to the surge in COVID-19 cases, Puerto Rico Governor Pedro R. Pierluisi has issued two executive orders that impose new requirements on commercial establishments in Puerto Rico...more
12/22/2021
/ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Entertainment Venues ,
Executive Orders ,
Hotels ,
Immunization Records ,
Puerto Rico ,
Quarantine ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Travelers ,
Vaccinations ,
Vaccine Passports ,
Virus Testing
Puerto Rico Governor Pedro R. Pierluisi has issued an Executive Order (EO) requiring all private sector employers with at least 50 employees to adopt COVID-19 vaccine or testing requirements...more
The Puerto Rico Supreme Court has confirmed that continued employment may be valid consent to mandatory employment arbitration agreements in a matter of first impression. Aponte et al. v. Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, LLC, CC...more
Citing factors such as inflation, population deceleration, migration, and the long-term economic effects of Hurricane Maria and the COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Pedro Pierluisi has sign into law the “Puerto Rico Minimum Wage...more
Puerto Rico Governor Pedro R. Pierluisi has expanded mandatory COVID-19 vaccination to additional private industries effective August 30, 2021.
Private Industries Covered-
Under Executive Order 2021-064 (EO), all...more
Puerto Rico has made COVID-19 vaccination mandatory for additional industries after Governor Pedro R. Pierluisi extended vaccination requirements for employees in the health and hospitality sectors beginning August 16, 2021....more
Puerto Rico Governor Pedro R. Pierluisi has issued an Executive Order (EO-2021-058) making COVID-19 vaccination mandatory for all public employees in the Executive Branch. EO-2021-058, which goes into effect August 16, 2021,...more