PUERTO RICO MINIMUM WAGE INCREASE EFFECTIVE JULY 1ST, 2024

On June 12 th, 2024, the Minimum Wage Evaluation Commission of the Department of Labor and Human Resources (“DLHR”) (hereinafter, “the Commission”) announced that, effective July 1st , 2024, the minimum wage will increase to $10.50 per hour, as previously established by the “Puerto Rico Minimum Wage Act” (hereinafter, “Act No. 47”). The Commission’s determination … Continued

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BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR ANOTHER POTENTIAL INCREASE ($10.50) TO THE MINIMUM WAGE EFFECTIVE JULY 1ST, 2024

As you may recall from our previous Newsletter, on September 21, 2021, the Governor of Puerto Rico, Pedro Pierluisi, signed into law House Bill 338 which establishes the “Puerto Rico Minimum Wage Act” (hereinafter, “Act No. 47”). Essentially, its purpose is to adapt the minimum wage to the cost of living of Puerto Rican workers, … Continued

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FINAL RULES ISSUED BY U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION

On April 23rd, 2024, the U.S Department of Labor (“DOL”) and the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced issuance of Final Rules that impact the employment landscape. DOL’s Final Rule The DOL’s Final Rule, Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales, and Computer Employees, revises and updates the regulations issued under Section … Continued

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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR ANNOUNCES FINAL RULE ON CLASSIFYING WORKERS AS EMPLOYEES OR INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS UNDER THE FAIR LABOR STANDARS ACT

On January 9, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) Wage and Hour Division announced issuance of a new final rule titled “Employee or Independent Contractor Classification Under the Fair Labor Standards Act” to help employers and workers have a better understanding of when a worker qualifies as an employee and when they may be … Continued

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NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULEMAKING PERTAINING TO THE FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT

On August 30, 2023, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) announced issuance of a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRM”) to update and revise the regulation issued under section 13(a)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) implementing the exemption for minimum wage and overtime pay requirements for executive, administrative, professional, outside sales, and computer employees. … Continued

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THE PREGNANT WORKERS FAIRNESS ACT COMES INTO EFFECT AND THE EEOC POSTS NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULE MAKING

The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (“PWFA”), signed into law by President Joe Biden on December 27th, 2022, became effective this past July 27th. The PWFA expands and builds upon the existing protections against pregnancy discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (“Title VII”) and the reasonable accommodation requirements under the Americans with Disabilities … Continued

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EMPLOYERS BEWARE OF PROPOSED RULE THAT MAY IMPACT NON-COMPETE COVENANTS AND LOCAL LEGISLATION THAT SEEKS TO CURTAIL UNPAID INTERNSHIPS

A. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) proposes rule to ban non-compete covenants and/or agreements Earlier this month the FTC published for public opinion a new proposed rule to ban employers from requiring non-compete clauses from their workers. The proposed rule is based on findings that a non-compete clause constitutes an unfair method of competition and … Continued

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BEWARE OF CHANGES TO STATUTORY CHRISTMAS BONUS AND RELATED OCTOBER 24TH OPINION FROM PR DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

On June 20, 2022, Governor Pedro Pierluisi signed into law Act No. 41-2022 (hereinafter, Act No. 41) which amended various employment statutes including the Puerto Rico Christmas Bonus for Private Workers and Employees Act, Act No. 148 of June 30, 1969, as amended (hereinafter, Act. No. 148).[1] Succinctly, Act No. 148 requires private employers to … Continued

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PUERTO RICO DEPARTMENT OF LABOR (“PRDOL”) PUBLISHES MODEL PROTOCOL TO PREVENT AND ADDRESS SEXUAL HARASSMENT COMPLAINTS IN THE WORKPLACE

On October 28th, 2022, the PRDOL published a model protocol to prevent and address sexual harassment complaints in the workplace. You can access the PRDOL’s model protocol here. This model protocol was prepared and disseminated by the PRDOL in response to a recent amendment to Act No. 17 of April 22, 1988 (“Act No. 17”), … Continued

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EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2022 LABOR REFORM IS FAST APPROACHING

Despite opposition from the Financial Oversight and Management Board (“Oversight Board”), Governor Pedro Pierluisi recently signed into law House Bill No. 1244, Act No. 41-2022 (“Act No. 41”) which amends various employment statutes and partially repeals the Labor Transformation and Flexibilization Act, (Act No. 4-2017 or Labor Reform of 2017). While only time will tell … Continued

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