Labor and employment
Law No. 13,467/2017 (the Labor Reform) eliminated the obligatory nature of ratification of termination of employment contracts by the trade union representing the category or the Ministry of Labor and Social Security (MTPS) for employees with more than one year of service.
One of the main and most important changes promoted by Law No. 13,467 (Labor Reform) is the distinction between two categories of workers: the hyposufficient and the hypersufficient.
Yesterday, November 30, the Government published a new implementation schedule for eSocial, created by the Management Committee. The main purpose of the rules is to facilitate the implementation of the system by employers and to give greater certainty to the process, in response to various requests submitted by companies and class entities.
One of the most striking and controversial changes promoted by Law No. 13,467/1207 (Labor Reform), later complemented by Presidential Decree No. 808, was the end of the obligation to pay union contributions.
Ordinance No. 1,129 of the Ministry of Labor and Employment (MTE) has caused real upheaval.
Law No. 12,761/2012 established the Worker Culture Program and created the cultural voucher, which was later given a regulatory framework by Decree No. 8,084/2013 and establishes that joining the program and granting this benefit are optional for employers.
On November 14, 2017, three days after the Labor and Employment Reform coming into effect, President Michel Temer issued a Provisional Measure amending the original bill sanctioned on July 14th, 2017.
Territorial jurisdiction in the Labor Courts, that is, the place where the labor claim must be filed, is defined based on the location of the provision of services, with the two exceptions provided for in paragraphs 1 and 2 of article 651 of the Consolidated Labor Laws (CLT), regarding employees who are commercial or traveling representatives and employees who carry out their activities at a place other than where they were hired.
Law No. 13,467/2017 amended article 2 of the Consolidated Labor Laws (CLT), which deals with the concept of an economic group, and included paragraph 3 which expressly states that the mere identity of partners does not constitute an economic group.
The new Outsourcing Law (13,429/2017) allowed for the hiring of third parties for all types of services, including those related to a company’s core business activity, but application of the law is raising questions. For example, does it apply to contracts in force and concluded in the past? Can the new law be applied in lawsuits discussing the legality or not of this type of outsourcing?
Among its main pillars, the Labor Reform sought to a) clarify controversies regarding the concept of time at the disposal of the employer; b) give greater autonomy to workers; c) debureaucratize some mandatory procedures for companies; and d) strengthen and encourage collective bargaining, the much-publicized principle of "negotiations over legislative mandates”.
The entry into force of Law No. 13,467/2017 (Labor Reform) brings to light a debate already widespread in the US, but very little discussed here in Brazil: the application and enforceability of the clawback clause in employment contracts for executives at publicly traded corporations.
