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Latest documents

• Puerto Rico Governor Issues Executive Order Relaxing COVID-19 Restrictions

  On June 3, 2021, Puerto Rico Governor Hon. Pedro Pierluisi issued Executive Order (EO) 2021-043 to further relax COVID-19 restrictions and guidelines. The new EO will be in effect from June 7, 2021 until July 4, 2021. The Order expands the maximum capacity limits for establishments and relaxes mask requirements for fully vaccinated individuals.

• Puerto Rico House Seeks to Undo Sections of the 2017 Labor Reform

  The Puerto Rico House of Representatives has introduced House Bill 3, which seeks to amend and repeal certain sections of the Labor Transformation and Flexibility Act of 2017, also known as the 2017 Puerto Rico Labor Reform. The House held a Public Session for Final Consideration on April 27, 2021 where it sought input from…

• Quarantine and Isolation Orders in Puerto Rico’s Executive Orders from March 2020 to April 2021

  Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and as new information has become available, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and local governments have continuously revised their isolation and quarantine requirements and recommendations.

• Puerto Rico Issues Guidance For Nursing Rooms In Workplace

  The Puerto Rico Women’s Advocate Office has published Guidelines for the Establishment of Nursing Rooms with the purpose of ensuring uniformity and setting forth all aspects employers should consider when establishing a nursing room in the workplace...

• Puerto Rico’s New Guidelines on Workplace Harassment/Bullying Clarify Protocols for Employers

  The Puerto Rico Department of Labor recently released guidelines on Law 90-2020, which seeks to prohibit workplace harassment and bullying, whether or not tied to a protected category.

• The Women’s Advocate Office of Puerto Rico Publishes Guidelines on Lactation Room Standards

  On February 11, 2021, the Women’s Advocate Office (WAO) published Guidelines on the Acclimatization of Lactation Rooms (Guidelines), which apply to both public- and private-sector employers.

• Puerto Rico Government Plan-to-Private Plan Rollovers Allowed

  On January 20, 2021, the Puerto Rico Department of the Treasury (Departamento de Hacienda, commonly known as “Hacienda”) issued Administrative Determination No. 21-01 (AD 21-01), which provides that lump-sum distributions from the retirement plan for Puerto Rico government employees are eligible for direct and indirect rollovers into Puerto Rico–qualified retirement plans maintained by private-sector employers. In practice, however, this determination is unlikely to have much of an impact on the operation of private-sector employer plans.

• Dealing With Missing Participants in Terminating Puerto Rico 401(k) Plans

  For a host of legal and practical reasons, the only feasible alternative for disposing of the accounts of missing participants in a terminating 401(k) or other defined contribution retirement plan qualified only in Puerto Rico (commonly known as a “P.R.-only plan”) is, after making reasonable efforts to locate the missing participants, depositing with the proper state unclaimed property fund(s) the retirement money of those participants who cannot be located. Sending the money to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), completing direct rollovers into individual retirement accounts or annuities (IRA), and opening bank accounts for the missing participants generally are not viable options.

• Do Not Take a Shot in the Dark: Important Considerations for Puerto Rico Employers Eyeing Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccination Programs

  Multiple states and jurisdictions are reporting a deadly winter spike of COVID-19 infections. An excess of 220,000 cases of COVID-19 were reported in early December, a dramatic increase from the 44,783 reported in October. Nevertheless, a glint of hope flashes within the gloom of the COVID-19 pandemic: Operation Warp Speed, a partnership program between the public and private sectors to develop, produce, and mass distribute a COVID vaccine.

• Puerto Rico: A Testing Dilemma in Returning to Work Scenarios and the Governor’s Most Recent Executive Order

  In conclusion, employers have multiple CDC-approved approaches to choose from when determining their return-to-work protocols. Employers opting for the test-based strategy are protected under the ADA so long as it is carried out according to current CDC guidelines. A case-by-case analysis should therefore be performed taking into consideration the particularities of each workplace and the circumstances surrounding the employee.

Featured documents

• Benefit Issues in Puerto Rico: Impact of the ACA, ERISA and the PBGC

  This article highlights some recent developments that employers with Puerto Rico employee benefits arrangements should consider concerning compliance with U.S. federal laws on health care reform and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“ACA”), fiduciary duties under the Employee...

• New Debt Enforcement Act Significantly Impacts Stakeholders In Puerto Rico’s Energy & Infrastructure Sectors

  On June 28, 2014, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico adopted the Puerto Rico Corporations Debt Enforcement & Recovery Act, Act 71-2014 (the “Debt Enforcemen enabling certain Commonwealth public corporations in financial distress to restructure their debt obligations. The Debt Enforcement Act is...

• Puerto Rico Supreme Court: Failure to Provide Safe, Private and Hygienic Area for Breastfeeding in the Workplace May Violate Working Mother’s Constitutional Right to Privacy

  On January 25, 2016, the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico held that employers in Puerto Rico should provide a safe, private, and hygienic place for working nursing mothers to extract breast milk during the nursing period as provided under Act No. 427-2000, as amended (“Act 427”). ...

• Puerto Rico Enacts Equal Pay Law, Prohibits Employers from Inquiring about Past Salary History

  Almost two months after signing sweeping employment law reform, Governor Ricardo Rosselló has signed Puerto Rico Act No. 16 of March 8, 2017, known as the “Puerto Rico Equal Pay Act.” Act 16 is effective immediately....

• Puerto Rico Treasury Department Issues Post-Hurricane Rules for Qualified Retirement Plan and IRA Distributions and Loans

  On November 15, 2017, the Puerto Rico Department of the Treasury (the "PR Treasury") issued Administrative Determination Number 17-29 ("AD 17-29") to provide special rules and procedures applicable to distributions from qualified retirement plans and individual retirement accounts ("IRAs")...

• Puerto Rico Law Authorizes Pay Deductions as Repayment for Employer-Provided Emergency Aid

  Puerto Rico is still reeling from the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. Recently, the governor of Puerto Rico signed into law Act No. 115 of June 20, 2018, to promote recovery efforts and provide much-needed aid to affected non-exempt employees in situations of emergency. Ordinarily, Puerto Rico law...

• Puerto Rico’s New Requirements for Property Insurers: Financial Reviews & Disaster Response Planning

  In response to the extremely active 2017 Atlantic hurricane season, the governor of Puerto Rico enacted several bills that amend or introduce new provisions to the Insurance Code of Puerto Rico, 26 L.P.R.A. § 101 et seq., including provisions regarding additional civil remedies against insurers, as ...

• Puerto Rico Working Women’s Bill of Rights Posters Available

  All governmental agencies, public corporations, municipalities and private employers in Puerto Rico with two or more employees are required to publish a poster in compliance with Law No. 9-2020, known as the Working Women’s Bill of Rights....

• Puerto Rico Supreme Court Holds Plaintiffs Bear the Burden of Clearly Asserting in Their Complaints the Elements of Constructive Discharge Claims

  Constructive discharge is a form of wrongful termination under the Puerto Rico Unjust Dismissal statute, Act No. 80 of May 30, 1976 (“Act 80”). Unlike in traditional wrongful termination cases, plaintiffs alleging constructive discharge bear the burden of proof in establishing that the employer...

• Rare First Circuit Decision Invalidating NDA and Overturning Misappropriation Verdict Serves as a Cautionary Tale

  In a rare appellate decision on enforceability of non-disclosure agreements and a plaintiff’s burden to establish the existence of trade secrets, the First Circuit recently overturned a district court summary judgment order and trial verdict. This decision serves as an important reminder for both...