Under Normative Rule 2,139, labor lawsuits will only need to be reported in the eSocial system starting July 2023. It may be understood that companies will not be required to include all ongoing labor lawsuits but only lawsuits with decisions no longer subject to appeal issued after the new July 2023 deadline, as well as those with impacts on employment obligations or tax, severance fund or social security payments.

Following the ruling issued on 8 June 2022, which determined that collective terminations require union involvement, Brazil’s Supreme Court has published on 25 April 2023 a new decision clarifying that such requirement applies to collective terminations implemented after 14 June 2022. The Supreme Court decision states that “prior union intervention is an essential procedural requirement for the collective termination of workers, which is not to be confused with prior authorization by the union or the signing of a collective agreement”.

Bill of Law No. 2058/2021 (BL), initiated by the Chamber of Deputies on 06/07/2021, proposes amendments to the recent and controversial Law No. 14.151/2021, which deals with the removal of pregnant employees from on-site work during the public health emergency of national importance due to the new coronavirus. The BL specifically regulates (i) telework (ii) remote work and/or (iii) other forms of non-presential work, specifically with regard to pregnant employees.

Due to the pandemic and social distancing measures, employers and employees are making use of communication apps to convey changes in the work routine and even termination of the employment agreement. As a result, many lawsuits have been filed before labor courts challenging the use of communication apps for these purposes.