Draft bill 241.

Summary.

The draft bill amends Article 212 of the Labor Code (Código de Trabajo) and sets out the cases excepted from Article 211. The list covers domestic workers; certain permanent or regular employees of small agricultural, livestock, agroindustrial, or manufacturing enterprises; workers aboard vessels engaged in international service; apprentices; and workers at establishments selling goods at retail and enterprises with five or fewer workers. The amendment places both the categories of covered workers and the rules governing their dismissal in Article 212.

For agricultural or livestock enterprises, the provision sets a limit of ten or fewer workers; for agroindustrial enterprises, twenty or fewer workers; and for manufacturing enterprises, fifteen or fewer workers. These limits form part of the description of the small enterprises whose permanent or regular employees fall within the exceptions. The category concerning retail establishments and enterprises with five or fewer workers excludes financial, insurance, and real estate establishments.

In the cases covered by the amended Article 212, the employer would have to pay the worker the compensation provided for in Article 225. The employer would also have to give thirty days’ advance notice of dismissal or pay the corresponding amount in lieu of notice. The notice period would begin with the pay period following notification. The provision therefore applies both the payment obligation and the advance notice requirement to the cases it enumerates.

For those same cases, the amendment provides that an unjustified dismissal would not give rise to back pay. It creates an exception when a ground under Article 213 of the Labor Code is invoked and the justification for dismissal is not proved. It also provides that surcharges would not arise in those cases. Domestic workers and workers aboard vessels engaged in international service would remain subject to their respective special rules.

The other provisions of the Labor Code that do not conflict with the amendment would remain in force. The draft bill provides that the law would take effect upon promulgation. The related statute is the Labor Code. Given the worker and enterprise categories it lists, the proposal could concern workers and employers in domestic service, agriculture and livestock activities, agroindustry, manufacturing, international maritime service, and retail trade. It could also concern apprentices and financial, insurance, and real estate establishments because the amended article expressly addresses those categories.