Bills Currently Being Discussed in the Legislative Assembly That Seek Significant Changes in Worklplaces

Published on Sep 30, 2024

Paola Rojas, lawyer in ARIAS Costa Rica and expert in ​Labor Law, shares this article about bills currently being discussed in the Legislative Assembly that could become Laws of the Republic, with a significant labor background regarding their impact on employment relations. 

 

  • Bill: Establishment of exceptional working hours for specific cases that are exceptional and highly qualified. 

 

After the bill processed under File 21,182, dated December 12, 2018, was dismissed, a modification has been presented under File 24,290. This aims to provide a new proposal regarding the reform of working hours established in the Labor Code, establishing exceptional working hours focused on specific productive activities that are deemed exceptional and highly qualified in order to enable continuous production processes in certain areas that require maintaining operations 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. 

 

This new bill is based on regulations contained in the Political Constitution and in Convention No. 1 of the International Labor Organization, among which the following stand out: 

 

Political Constitution: 

 

Article 58: "The ordinary daytime work shift shall not exceed eight hours per day and forty-eight hours per week. The ordinary nighttime work shift shall not exceed six hours per day and thirty-six hours per week (...) However, these provisions shall not apply in cases of highly qualified exceptions as determined by law.” 

 

 

International Labour Organization: 

 

Article 4: "(…) the limit of working hours established in article 2 may be exceeded in jobs whose continuous operation, due to the very nature of the work, must be ensured by successive teams, (…)". 

 

Article 5: "In exceptional cases where the limits set forth in article 2 are considered inapplicable, and only in such cases, (…) they may have the force of regulation if the government, to which such agreements must be communicated, so decides.  

 

Article 6: "1. The public authority shall determine, through industry or profession regulations: (…) a) the permanent exceptions that may be admitted for preparatory or complementary work that must necessarily be performed outside the limit assigned to the general work of the establishment, or for certain classes of persons whose work is especially intermittent; (…) b) the temporary exceptions that may be admitted to allow companies to cope with extraordinary increases in work.” 

 

Notable Reforms and Additions: 

 

Reforms 

 

Article 142 Labor Code 

 

  • The need for labor must be continuous. 

  • Companies must hire as many teams of workers as necessary. 

  • The rest period between the end of one daily shift and the beginning of the next shall be 12 hours. 

  • There is an obligation to maintain a weekly electronic or physical record, which must be available for the National Directorate of Labor Inspection of the Ministry of Labor.  

 

Article 144 Labor Code 

 

  • Maintain a physical or digital record of payments made for overtime, holidays and worked rest days. 

  • Obligation to provide receipt (physical or electronic) of payment sent to the medium indicated by the worker. 

  • The record must be available for the National Directorate of Labor Inspection of the Ministry of Labor. 

 

Article 205 Labor Code 

 

  • Work risk insurance will be administered based on the technical criteria by the National Insurance Institute. 

  • The National Insurance Institute may conduct annual settlements, which include the formation of the technically necessary reserves to establish the results of the past economic period.  

  • If surpluses arise, they shall become part of a distribution reserve, which will be allocated 50% to the Occupational Health Board of Directors. 

 

Additions 

 

Article 143 bis Labor Code - Cases of Highly Qualified Exceptions 

 

a) Technified manufacturing, provided that these processes require machinery for their production. 

b Medical device industry in the life sciences of humans and animals. 

c) Support services to address the activities outlined in subsections a) and b) of this article. 

d) Operation of corporate services to be