On Monday, April 19th, 2022, the reform of articles 94, 94 BIS, 95, 96, 97, 100 and the addition of subsection K) to article 70 of the Labor Code were approved in the second debate.
According to these reforms, paternity leave is created, and the following modifications are made to the law:
The employer is prohibited from requiring a medical pregnancy test for the employee to enter or remain at work.
Once the breastfeeding period has elapsed, the employer must provide a permit with pay to attend medical services, both for the newborn and the mother or person in charge, as well as for the withdrawal of breastfeeding certificates in health centers.
The employee may opt for reinstatement or terminate the employment contract with employer responsibility. Also, the employee in lactating period will have the right to severance and the collection of court-decreed damages.
With regard to joint adoption, special leave of three months shall be granted, divisible between the adoptive persons by mutual agreement, which may be taken simultaneously or alternately, according to the decision of the parties.
Birth fathers will be granted paternity leave of two days a week for the first four weeks after the birth of their son or daughter. Employers are now obligated to comply with this reform.
In the case where a mother dies in childbirth or during the leave permit and the child survives, the biological father will have the right to a special postpartum leave permit in place of the deceased mother.
Once the leave permit, disability order, or vacation time has elapsed, the employee will return to his/her position and only in exceptional cases, duly justified, may he/she be placed in another position equivalent in remuneration, which is related to her/his aptitudes, capacity, and competence.
Employees who are breastfeeding may have, during their working hours, an interval, on a day to choose, of:
- 15 minutes every 3 hours
- 30 minutes twice a day
- 1 hour at the beginning of your day
- 1 hour before the end of the working day;
- Or they can choose to enter 1 hour later or leave 1 hour earlier from the workplace. For either of these 2 options, the hour must be paid.
Currently, the Labor Code states that employers with more than 30 women must have an ideal space for employees to safely breastfeed their children and pump breast milk; now, with the reform, employers must provide this lactation area, regardless of the number of women working for the company.
Before these modifications to the law enter into force, the president must sign the legislative decree which then requires publication in the Official Gazette.