Labor Newsletter - August 2026
Themes
LABOR NEWS
The Executive Branch requests legislative powers to regulate labor matters
On August 28, 2026, the Executive Branch submitted a bill to Congress seeking legislative powers for a period of 120 calendar days. In labor matters, the proposal covers the regulation of areas such as labor inspections, productivity bonuses and other performance-based incentives, severance payments for managerial and trusted employees, labor formalization, and public holidays. The proposal is still pending approval by Congress.
INSPECTIONS
The exclusion of unionized employees from a compensation policy does not, by itself, establish pay discrimination
The Labor Inspection Tribunal (TFL) of SUNAFIL held that the mere finding that certain unionized employees were excluded from a compensation policy is insufficient, in itself, to establish the existence of pay discrimination.
To establish an infringement based on a prohibited ground, the labor inspection authority must sufficiently identify and establish the following:
- the discriminatory conduct alleged;
- the employees affected;
- the period during which the conduct occurred;
- the factual elements demonstrating the existence of the discriminatory act; and
- the link between the differential treatment and the prohibited ground invoked.
Likewise, allegations of pay discrimination cannot be based on presumptive reasoning. The labor inspection authority must provide sufficient reasoning explaining the causal link between the established facts and the alleged discriminatory conduct.
In the case at issue, the labor inspection authority considered that employees affiliated with the union had been excluded from the “SOP Salary Increases” policy because of their union membership.
However, the SUNAFIL TFL noted that the Inspection Report did not specify:
- what facts rendered such exclusion a sanctionable act of discrimination;
- the specific circumstances in which the salary increases were to be granted; or
- what objective elements established a link between the differential treatment and union membership.
The inspection also failed to assess the impact of the variables underlying the compensation policy, such as individual performance, ratings, salary curves, and seniority in the position.
Due to these deficiencies, it was not possible to establish the causal link between the facts identified and the alleged discrimination on the grounds of union membership.
(Resolution No. 0888-2026-SUNAFIL/TFL-First Chamber)
OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH
An accident may qualify as a workplace accident even after the workday has ended
The SUNAFIL Labor Inspection Tribunal (TFL) held this in a recent ruling in which it sanctioned a food and beverage company for an accident that occurred after the employee’s working hours had ended.
A female employee had finished her workday and was cleaning her shoes using the brush installed at the entrance to the workplace. When she stepped on the pedal, the disinfectant sprayer was activated, causing the substance to enter her eyes.
The SUNAFIL TFL classified the event as a workplace accident despite the fact that it occurred after the end of the workday and involved an instrument that was not a work tool.
The company was sanctioned for failing to identify the hazards and risks associated with this situation in its Hazard Identification, Risk Assessment, and Control Measures (IPERC) matrix.
(Resolution No. 987-2026-SUNAFIL/TFL-First Chamber)
MONTHLY REMINDER
SUNAFIL issues compliance letters to various employers requesting information on emergency prevention, preparedness, and response measures
The entity is requesting the submission of:
- emergency preparedness and response plan;
- minutes or records evidencing the establishment of the emergency response brigade; and
- records of training sessions and emergency response drills.