News & Resources

Puerto Rico Act 74 of July 28, 2023 amends PR Act No. 54 of August 15, 1989, “Act for the Prevention and Intervention with Domestic Violence,” to add economic violence as a modality of prohibited domestic violence. For more information, click here: https://www.pmalaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/LABOR-ALERT-LEY-74-DE-2023.pdf

On February 22, 2023, the United States Supreme Court held in Helix Energy Solutions Group v. Hewitt that daily rate workers will not meet the “salary basis” test required to be exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act’s protection unless the conditions set forth in either §602(a) or §604(b) of the Act’s interpreting regulations are met. For more information, click here: https://www.pmalaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Labor-Alert-3.13.23.pdf

On June 20, 2022, Governor Pedro Pierluisi signed Act 41-2022, that amends several employment laws including Act 4-2017 (Labor Reform Act). For more information, click here: https://www.pmalaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/PMA-Labor-Alert-Act-No.-41-2022-.pdf

On January 13, 2022, the Supreme Court issued a Per Curiam opinion in the case of National Federation of Independent Business, et al., v. Department of Labor, OSHA, et al, 595 U. S. ____ (2022) which stayed implementation of the Occupational Safety and Health Act’s (OSHA) COVID–19 Vaccination and Testing; Emergency Temporary Standard, 86 Fed. Reg. 61402, pending disposition of the National Federation and the State of Ohio’s petitions for review in the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. For more information, click here: https://www.pmalaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/LABOR-ALERT-US-SUPREME-COURT-COVID-19-ETS-1.pdf

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued on November 4, 2021 a new Emergency Temporary Standard (“ETS”) which requires covered employers to: (1) develop, implement and enforce a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy, unless an employee seeks exemption based on recognized medical conditions or religious beliefs, observances or practices, in which case the employee must undergo regular COVID-19 testing and wear a face covering at work; or (2) adopt a policy requiring employees to choose either to be vaccinated or undergo regular COVID-19 testing and wear a face covering at work. For more information, click here: https://www.pmalaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/LABOR-ALERT-OSHA-ISSUES-COVID-19-ETS.pdf

On September 21, 2021, Governor Pedro Pierluisi signed into law Act No. 47, Puerto Rico’s new Minimum Wage Law, for more information, click here: https://www.pmalaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/LABOR-ALERT-PUERTO-RICO-MINIMUM-WAGE.pdf

On July 29, 2021, the Governor signed into law Act 15-2021 as an amendment to Act 42-2017, which had legalized the use of medical cannabis in Puerto Rico. Act 15-2021 now prohibits discrimination in employment of authorized and registered patients of medical cannabis. For more information, click here: https://www.pmalaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Labor-Alert-Act-No.-15-2021.pdf

On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed into law the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). The law provides certain benefits to assist workers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic including a new COBRA premium subsidy that pays for 100 percent of the applicable COBRA premium for eligible individuals with respect to coverage periods between April 1, 2021 and Sept. 30, 2021. For more information, click here: https://www.pmalaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/LABOR-ALERT-ARPA-COBRA-SUBSIDY-Rev.-MIR-26-March-2021.pdf

On February 3, 2021, the Puerto Rico Department of Labor and Human Resources issued Guidelines on Workplace Harassment for the private sector. The Guidelines are intended to help private employers comply with the requirements established by PR Act 90 of August 7, 2020,including its requirement that employers adopt a protocol to process and manage workplace harassment claims. For more information, click here: https://www.pmalaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/PR-DOL-GUIDANCE-ON-LABOR-HARASSMENT-ACT.pdf

On September 22, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced a proposed rule regarding how to determine whether a worker is an employee under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) or an independent contractor. For more, information, click here: https://www.pmalaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/LABOR-ALERT-DOL-PROPOSED-REGULATION-CONTRACTORS-REV-24-SEPT-2020.pdf