Extension of the State of National Emergency.- The State of National Emergency was extended until November 30, 2020.
New labor protection measures for pregnant women and nursing mothers.- In addition to their right to request not to perform work that endangers their health and/or the normal development of the embryo and fetus, it is recognized that during the extension of the State of National Health Emergency, the employer must identify pregnant workers and nursing mothers whose integrity or that of their child is at risk by COVID-19, for the purpose of applying compulsory remote work.
When the nature of their work is not compatible with the remote work, and while the health emergency lasts, the employer must assign them tasks compatible with those they originally performed or failing this, preferably grant them paid leave which is subject to subsequent compensation.
The Constitutional Court ratifies the power of the employer to implement video surveillance cameras in the workplace.- In case No. 02208-2017-PA/TC-Lima, the Constitutional Court declared unfounded a lawsuit filed by a trade union organization aimed at the removal of video surveillance cameras inside the workplace. In the opinion of the Constitutional Court, such measure was part of the employer’s prerogatives because (i) it allowed the verification of its production processes within the factory; (ii) it was previously communicated to the workers; (iii) the cameras were installed in visible spaces and not in intimate or reserved spaces; (iv) they favored the control system against accidents at work; and, (v) it had been included in the Internal Work Regulation.
New District Jurisdictional Plenary Lima 2020.- The senior judges of the labor chambers in Lima adopted the following resolutions: (i) the payment of punitive damages in cases of unfair and fraudulent dismissal is not applicable; (ii) employers are authorized to make legal deductions at the stage of execution of the judgment; (iii) the labor reinstatement of pregnant workers in positions of trust is applicable; (iv) Emergency Decree No. 016-2020 must not be applied, via diffuse control, to workers of the public labor regime; and, (v) the burden of proof of overtime work is shifted to the defendant employer if he does not display the attendance control record.
Directive on the exercise of investigative proceeding in accidents and incidents at work and dangerous incidents.- The most relevant aspects established by the Directive are the following:
SUNAFIL has established a specific periodicity for internal occupational safety and health inspections.- It did so in a recent statement in which, with respect to the complaint of a former worker, it determined that the company must carry out and record internal occupational safety and health inspections on a monthly basis.
According to SUNAFIL, the fact that the company submitted during the investigation some records of internal inspections carried out on a monthly basis, determined that the periodicity of such inspections was monthly, and therefore such record must have been accredited with the same frequency in the future. It must be noted that the general occupational safety and health rule does not establish the frequency with which such inspections must be carried out, but that this depends on the internal decision of each employer according to its Occupational Safety and Health Management System.
