Puerto Rico Employee Rights: Understanding Your Workplace Protections
Introduction
Puerto Rico is recognized as a U.S. territory, and therefore it is mainly subject to the U.S. employment laws. However, Puerto Rico has its own employment laws that provide further protection to its citizens. These laws protect workers from discrimination and harassment, establish fair compensation, and provide for job security. In this article, we will discuss the employee rights of Puerto Rico, including the most recent developments and updates to the law.
Equal Employment Opportunity
Puerto Rico recognizes the importance of equal employment opportunity for all workers. The Puerto Rico Anti-Discrimination Law (Act 100 of 1959) prohibits discrimination on the grounds of race, color, gender, religion, national origin, age, and disability. Under this law, all employees must be treated equally in every aspect of their employment, including hiring, promotion, salary, and benefits. Employers who violate this law face substantial civil penalties, including monetary damages and other remedies.
Sexual Harassment
Like the United States, Puerto Rico prohibits any type of sexual harassment in the workplace making Sexual Harassment another employee right in Puerto Rico. The Puerto Rico Anti-Sexual Harassment Law (Act 54 0f 1989) establishes strict guidelines for the prevention and punishment of sexual harassment in the workplace. The law defines sexual harassment as an unwelcome sexual advance, request for sexual favors, or any other form of verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature that unreasonably interferes with an employee’s work performance or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment. Employers must maintain strict confidentiality in the investigation of sexual harassment complaints, and they may not retaliate or take adverse action against employees who report or participate in the complaint process.
Minimum Wage and Overtime Pay
Puerto Rico has its own minimum wage law known as the Minimum Wage Order of 2018. The law provides a minimum wage for most workers, including those in the private sector, government employees, and some farmworkers. As of January 2021, the minimum wage in Puerto Rico is $7.25 an hour, which is the same as the federal minimum wage. However, differing from the U.S., Puerto Rico employers are required to pay non-exempt employees overtime pay at a rate that is 1.5 times their regular hourly wage for every hour worked over 40 hours per workweek. This translates to a rate of $10.88 per hour for overtime for an employee whose regular hourly wage is $7.25 per hour.
Minimum Wage Order of 2018
The Minimum Wage Order of 2018 (Regulation No. 8947) is the most recent update to the minimum wage in Puerto Rico. This legislation includes a complex salary system established based on size and category of employers. This system divides employers between small, medium, and large, and categorizes employees in Exempt and Non-exempt categories.
Employers must clearly define the wages provided for each category and maintain compliance by covering additional benefits such as vacation days, sick days, and premium pay. In addition, any employer found to be violating the Minimum Wage Order is subjected to fines that extend from $1,000 to $10,000 for each infringement. Prevention of employment practices such as wage theft and retaliation against workers is of utmost importance to the agencies that enforce these protections.
Workplace Safety and Health
Puerto Rico is a commonwealth subject to federal OSHA regulations, which creates an awareness of the importance of workplace safety. Employers in Puerto Rico must provide a safe work environment free from recognized hazards. Employees also have the right to report unsafe conditions without fear of retaliation from the employer. In the event there are injuries in the workplace, employers must provide an efficient employee coordinating program with medical services and appropriate insurance coverage.
Employment Contracts
Employment Contracts are also a topic of consideration in employee rights. Under Puerto Rico law, Employment Contracts may either be verbal or written. However, written contracts are preferred since they provide a higher level of protection for the employer and the employee. Employment Contracts should contain a detailed description of the employee’s duties and compensation, including regular pay, bonuses, and overtime. Furthermore, employers may include other provisions such as non-compete agreements, trade secrets, and confidentiality clauses.
Termination and Layoffs
Puerto Rico employment law provides various termination rules and rights. Generally, employees may be laid off for many reasons, including but not limited to budgetary constraints, restructuring, and reduced demand for goods and services. However, the Fair Employment Practices Act of Puerto Rico (Act 80 of 1976) sets forth strict notification requirements for employers who anticipate laying off or closing their businesses. Employers must provide a minimum of 60-days advance notice to their employees, and they must pay compensation for unused annual leave, sick leave, and other benefits. This offers a significant level of job security for Puerto Rican workers and the financial stability that comes with advanced notice.
Pregnancy Discrimination
In Puerto Rico, pregnant workers are also protected under the law. Employers are not allowed to discriminate against pregnant employees regarding employment decisions such as pay rate, job assignments, or termination. The Puerto Rico Laws of Female Employees Act (Law 229 of 2003) obligates employers to maintain pregnancy leave rights. Pregnant workers may take a 12-week leave of absence, with access to medical insurance benefits during their leave of absence. The law also permits the use of accrued vacation and sick days during their pregnancy period.
Conclusion
In summary, Puerto Rico employees have extensive protections for their employment rights. They are protected against workplace discrimination and sexual harassment while ensuring a fair wage and safe working conditions by the labor laws. Employers who refuse to comply with these laws are subjected to penalties and potentially significant financial awards to employees. Puerto Rican law always seeks to ensure the most advanced regulations to safeguard employee rights. In case of uncertainty, we recommend consulting Puerto Rican employment law experts to receive an accurate interpretation of your rights as an employee under Puerto Rican law.
Guide to Puerto Rico Employee Rights
If you are moving to Puerto Rico or recently became employed there, you should know that PR employee rights are much more extensive than in any of the 50 U.S. states. This guide will provide you with a basic overview of Puerto Rico employee rights, so that you can understand if your employer is in violation. For legal advice about your particular situation or more information on a particular aspect of PR employee rights, you may wish to consult with a labor and employment attorney.
Wrongful Termination
Unlike the vast majority of U.S. states, Puerto Rico does not have “at will” employment. Instead, employees who are not given a fixed term contract are assumed to have a contract of indefinite length and are protected by Puerto Rico employee rights against termination without a good cause. In order to be fired from your job, your employer must be able to demonstrate that layoffs were needed or that you were unable or unwilling to perform your job duties as specified in your employment agreement.
These PR employee rights apply to all employees except for those who are working in their probationary period. According to Puerto Rico employee rights, an employee is under probation for the first 90 days of their employment and may be fired without good cause during this period.
Paid Leave
While only one U.S. state (Connecticut) requires any paid leave, PR employee rights specify that employees must be given both sick and vacation leave. Every full time employee in the state who is not in a professional, administrative, or executive role must accrue a minimum of 12 days of sick leave and 15 days of vacation time per year.
Maternity leave is also required to be paid by employers. Puerto Rico employee rights allow all pregnant women to take leave 4 weeks before their due date and for up to 4 weeks after they have given birth. If the birth had complications and a woman requires additional recovery time, she has PR employee rights to an additional 12 weeks of unpaid leave.
Overtime
Overtime must be paid to all employees who are not professional, administrative, or executive. Any hours worked in excess of 40 per week or 8 hours a day must be paid at a rate of one and a half time an employee’s average hourly wage according to Puerto Rico employee rights. PR employee rights also require employers to pay their employees overtime for their seventh consecutive day of work.
Breaks
Employees are entitled to a one hour meal break according to Puerto Rico employee rights. If you ask to have a shorter meal break, PR employee rights allow you to shorten this break to half an hour. All employees who are required to (or even allowed to) work during their meal break must be paid double time—or triple time if they are working overtime hours—for their meal break according to Puerto Rico employee rights.
