Employer and Employee Obligations and Rights Under Federal Labor Law

Posted on Nov 4, 2024 in Law & Jurisprudence

Employer and Employee Obligations and Rights

Employer Obligations

General Obligations

  • Pay workers’ wages and benefits according to company or establishment rules.
  • Provide workers with the necessary tools and materials for their work, ensuring they are of good quality and in good condition. Replace them as soon as they cease to be efficient. Workers are not obligated to use their own tools. The employer cannot require any compensation for normal wear and tear of tools and work materials.
  • Provide a safe place for storing workers’ instruments and equipment that must remain on-site while providing services. The employer cannot retain these items as compensation, guarantee, or for any other reason. Registration of instruments or tools must be done if the employee requests it.
  • Maintain a sufficient number of seats or chairs available to workers in stores, offices, hotels, restaurants, and similar workplaces. The same applies to industrial establishments where the nature of the work permits.
  • Issue bi-weekly, at the request of employees, a written record of the number of days worked and wages paid.
  • Issue to the employee who requests it, or who is separated from the company, a written record of their services within three days.
  • Inform the owner of the collective agreement, the union, and workers in the next lower category about newly created positions and permanent and temporary vacancies to be filled.
  • Post visibly and widely in work areas the provisions of leading regulations and safety and health instructions.
  • Make deductions requested by unions for regular union dues, provided they are established in Article 110, Section VI.
  • Make deductions for contributions to the establishment and promotion of cooperatives and savings banks, in accordance with Article 110, Section IV.
  • Participate in the integration and operation of committees formed in every workplace, in accordance with the provisions of this Act.

Covenants

  • Treat workers with due consideration and refrain from mistreatment by word or deed.
  • Refrain from refusing to accept workers because of age or gender.
  • Refrain from requiring workers to purchase consumer goods in a specific store or location.
  • Refrain from demanding or accepting money from workers as a bonus for keeping their job or for any other reason related to their employment conditions.
  • Refrain from making or authorizing collections or subscriptions within establishments and workplaces.
  • Refrain from performing any act that restricts workers’ rights under the law.
  • Refrain from engaging in political or religious propaganda within the establishment.
  • Refrain from using a system to blacklist workers who are separated or have been separated from work to prevent them from obtaining future employment.
  • Refrain from carrying weapons inside establishments located within populated areas.
  • Refrain from being present on the premises while intoxicated or under the influence of a narcotic drug.

Complex Duties

  • Comply with the provisions of labor standards applicable to their companies or establishments.
  • Collaborate with Labor and Education Authorities, in accordance with laws and regulations, to achieve worker literacy.
  • Provide training for their workers as outlined in Chapter III of this Title Bis.
  • Meet health and safety provisions established by laws and regulations to prevent accidents and illnesses in the workplace and, in general, in places where work is performed. Make available at all times the necessary medicines and curing materials, following issued instructions, to provide timely and effective first aid. Notify the competent authority of each accident that occurs.
  • Contribute to the promotion of cultural and sports activities among their employees and provide essential equipment and supplies.
  • Make the deductions provided in sections IV to VII of Article 97 and Article 110, and deposit the savings to the creditor bank or the Development and Guarantee Fund for Workers’ Consumption. This obligation does not make the employer liable for the credit granted to the worker.
  • Provide protection for pregnant women as established by regulations.

Employer Obligations to Tolerate (Art. 132 LFT)

  • Give workers time to exercise their right to vote in national elections and to comply with jury service, election, and census duties referred to in Article 5 of the Constitution when such activities must be fulfilled during their working hours.
  • Allow workers to miss work to carry out an accidental or permanent commission of their union or the State, provided proper notice is given and the number of workers involved does not harm the smooth operation of the establishment. The time lost may be deducted from the employee’s pay unless compensated by equally effective work. When the commission is permanent, the worker(s) may return to their previous position, retaining all their rights, provided they return to work within six years. Substitutes have the character of interim, being considered permanent after six years.

Employee Obligations

Obligations to Give

  • Perform the job with the intensity, care, and diligence appropriate to the manner, time, and place agreed upon.
  • Give immediate notice to the employer, unless prevented by a fortuitous event or force majeure, of valid reasons for not attending work.
  • Provide assistance at any time when needed, in cases of imminent danger or risk of loss of life or damage to the interests of the employer or coworkers.
  • Participate in the bodies established by this Act.

Covenants

  • Refrain from performing any act that might endanger their own safety, that of their colleagues, or that of others, as well as the safety of establishments or workplaces.
  • Refrain from being absent from work without just cause or without permission from the employer.
  • Refrain from stealing company or establishment work equipment, raw materials, or processed goods.
  • Refrain from coming to work intoxicated.
  • Refrain from reporting to work under the influence of a narcotic or enervating drug, unless a prescription exists. Before beginning work, the employee must inform the employer and present a prescription signed by a doctor.

Complex Duties

  • Observe the preventive and hygienic measures agreed upon by the authorities and indicated in the standards for safety and personal protection of workers.
  • Perform the service under the direction of the employer or their representative, whose authority they shall be subject to in all matters relating to work.
  • Observe good manners during work.
  • Undergo medical examinations, according to internal regulations and other standards in the company or establishment, to verify that they do not suffer from any disability, occupational disease, contagious illness, or incurable illness.

Employee Rights Related to Seniority

  • Job stability
  • Compensation from the employer when dismissal is attributable to the employer
  • Vacation time (Art. 76)
  • Immunity after 20 years of service (Art. 161)
  • Preference in promotions
  • Right to receive certificates (Art. 132, Sections VII and VIII)
  • Seniority bonus (Art. 162)
  • Right to borrow money from the employer
  • Housing allowance
  • Retirement, in some cases

Seniority and Preference Rights

Article 158 LFT: 12 days of minimum wage are paid for each year of service.

Article 159: Ladder of rights: – Ability, + Seniority

If ability is equal, preference will be given to those who have a family.

If ability and family status are equal, preference will be given to the worker who demonstrates greater fitness after an examination.

Salary

Definition

Article 82: Salary is the remuneration paid by the employer to the employee for their work.

Characteristics of Wages

Article 83: Wages may be fixed per unit of time, per unit of work, by commission, as a lump sum, or otherwise.

When wages are fixed per unit of work, in addition to specifying the nature of the work, the agreement must specify the quantity and quality of material, the condition of tools provided by the employer (if applicable), and the time allotted for the employee to complete the work. The employer cannot demand any sum for wear and tear suffered by the tools as a result of the work.

Article 84: Salary is composed of payments made in cash for daily wages, gratuities, perceptions, housing, bonuses, commissions, benefits in kind, and any other amount or benefit given to the employee for their work.

Article 85: Salary should be rewarding and never less than the minimum set in accordance with the provisions of this Act. The wage-fixing process must take into consideration the quantity and quality of work. When wages are paid per unit of work, the remuneration must be such that, for a normal workday of eight hours, it results in at least the minimum wage.

Christmas Bonus (Aguinaldo)

Article 87: Employees are entitled to an annual Christmas bonus, to be paid before the 20th of December, equivalent to at least 15 days’ wages. Employees who have not completed a year of service, regardless of whether they are working on the bonus payment date, are entitled to be paid proportionally, based on the time they have worked.

Tips

Article 346: Tips are part of the wages of workers covered by this chapter, as defined in Article 347. Employers may not reserve or retain any interest in them.

Article 347: If a percentage of sales is not established as a tip, the parties must agree on an amount to be added to the base salary for calculating any compensation or benefits due to the workers. The salary set for this purpose must be rewarding and should consider the importance of the establishment where the services are rendered.

Purpose of Wages

Wages should be sufficient to meet the needs of a head of household, including material, social, and cultural development, and to promote education.

Minimum Wage

Definition

Article 90: The minimum wage is the lowest amount that can be paid in cash to an employee for services rendered in a workday.

The minimum wage must be sufficient to meet the normal needs of a head of household in terms of material, social, and cultural development and to provide for the compulsory education of their children.

The establishment of institutions and measures to protect the purchasing power of wages and facilitate workers’ access to goods and services is considered to be of social utility.

Minimum Wage Structure

Article 91: The minimum wage can be general for one or more geographical areas, which may extend to one or more states. It can also be specific to a given branch of economic activity or to professions, occupations, or special work in one or more geographical areas.

Article 92: The general minimum wage applies to all workers in the determined geographical area(s), regardless of the branch of economic activity, occupation, trade, or special assignment.

Article 93: Professional minimum wages apply to all workers in the specified branches of economic activity, occupations, trades, or special assignments within one or more geographical areas.

Authorized Payroll Deductions (Art. 110)

Article 110: Payroll deductions are prohibited except in the following cases and under the following conditions:

  • Payment of debts owed to the employer for: payment of wages, overpayments to the worker, errors, losses, damages, or the purchase of goods produced by the company or establishment. The amount deducted cannot exceed one month’s wages, and the deduction must be agreed upon between the worker and the employer. However, it cannot exceed 30% of the minimum wage.
  • Payment of debts referred to in Article 151, which cannot exceed 15% of wages.
  • Payment of loan installments from the National Housing Fund for Workers for the acquisition, construction, repair, extension, or improvement of houses, or the payment of liabilities incurred for these purposes. Workers who have been granted credit to purchase homes located in housing projects funded by the Institute of the National Housing Fund for Workers may have 1% of their salary (as referred to in Article 143 of the Law) deducted to cover expenses incurred for the administration, operation, and maintenance of the housing in question. These deductions must be freely accepted by the worker.
  • Payment of fees for the establishment and promotion of cooperatives and savings banks, provided that the workers freely express their agreement and the deduction does not exceed 30% of the minimum wage.