Did you realize that the Puerto Rico labor laws are different in many key ways than in the mainland US? They are substantially more labor-friendly than you might expect. If you own or are starting a Puerto Rico business and have employees in PR, it’s very important to understand these key differences.

Additionally, there have been changes to these laws. Some have favored the employer, but some more recent changes, just passed in June of 2022, are more beneficial to employees.

Some key points

• Puerto Rico labor laws are based on “right to work” rather than the “at will” employment in the mainland.
• Employees in PR must be paid a Christmas bonus.
• Paid vacations, sick leave, and government holidays are dictated by law.
• Employment can begin under a probationary period of up to 3 months (which can be extended for up to another 3 months if you get permission from the PR Department of Labor).
• Should you need to terminate an employee for cause, it’s important to show a history backing this up.

New Webinar

We had scheduled a webinar on this topic which incorporated the PR labor law changes enacted last year, but a new change is causing us to delay this webinar. A court connected to PROMESA recently declared the new laws void, and the results of this are still being worked out. We will reschedule the webinar once more details become available.