January 2023: Puerto Rico Adds Legal Protections for Interns, Right to Paid Internships
Update Applicable to:All employers with interns in Puerto Rico. What happened?On December 27, 2022, Governor Pedro Pierluisi signed Act 114 of 2022, known as the “Puerto Rico Fair Internships Act” (Act. 114) into law, which seeks to offer compensatory protections to students who are part of internship programs where existing state and labor legislation do […]
November 2022: Puerto Rico Expands Coverage of Sexual Harassment Law
Update Applicable to: All employers in Puerto Rico. What happened?On September 28, 2022, the Governor of Puerto Rico signed into law Act 82-2022, which amends Act 17-1988 to expand its coverage and require employers to adopt a sexual harassment protocol. What are the details? Under the law, sexual harassment is: If employment opportunities or benefits are granted […]
November 2022: Puerto Rico Disability Discrimination Law Now Protects Medical Cannabis Users
Update Applicable to:All employers in Puerto Rico. What happened?Puerto Rico’s disability discrimination statute (Law 44-1985), the local counterpart of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), has been amended by Law 90-2022, signed by Governor Pedro Pierluisi, and will extend coverage to registered and authorized medical cannabis patients. What are the details?Before the amendment, Law 44-1985’s […]
September 2022: Puerto Rico Governor Declares Monkeypox State of Emergency
Update Applicable to: All employers with employees in Puerto Rico. What happened?On September 1, 2022, Governor Pierluisi issued Executive Order 2022-044, declaring a state of emergency in Puerto Rico due to the monkeypox virus. What are the details? Effective immediately, Executive Order 2022-044 empowers the Department of Health to implement the efforts and measures necessary to safeguard […]
August 2022: Puerto Rico Governor Signs New Employment Law Reform Bill into Law
Update Applicable to: All employers with businesses in Puerto Rico. What happened?On June 20, 2022, Puerto Rico’s Governor signed into law House Bill 1244 (HB 1244) into law, which amends and partially repeals the Labor Transformation and Flexibilization Act, Act No. 4-2017 (Act No. 4 or Labor Reform of 2017), as well as amends several other employment statutes. […]
August 2022: Puerto Rico Enacts New Legislation on Remote Workers of “Out-of-State” Employers
Update Applicable to: All employers with employees working remotely out of Puerto Rico. What happened?On June 30, 2022, the Governor of Puerto Rico signed into law Act No. 52 (Act 52-2022), which amended the concept of “engaged in trade or business” under the Puerto Rico Internal Revenue Code of 2011, to address the pandemic-related issue of […]
