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Registry of New Employees & Child Support

ByROBERT ALEX FLEMING

Under Act No. 5 of December 30, 1996, employers in Puerto Rico must notify the name of all new hires within 20 days of recruitment to the State New Hire Registry division  of the the Administration for Child Support Enforcement (“ASUME” in Spanish) .The new hire report must contain the name, address and social security of each employee as well as the name, address and federal Employer Identification Number of the Employer. When the employer…

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Hours of Work

ByROBERT ALEX FLEMING

Regular working hours  in Puerto Rico are eight (8) hours during any workday and forty hours (40) during any workweek.  Thus eight (8) hours of work constitute the legal workday in Puerto Rico and forty (40) hours of work constitute a workweek. Extra working hours include: hours that an employee works for his employer in excess of eight (8) hours during any period of twenty-four (24) consecutive hours; hours that an employee works for his…

Professionals in Puerto Rico and FLSA

ByROBERT ALEX FLEMING

In Puerto Rico, certain professionals, including those in the creative field are exempt under minimum wage laws. The exempt categories are similar to those under  federal law. In addition to the requirements as to the wage rate and form of payment, the professional employee exemption applies only if its essential function of work requires advanced knowledge in a scientific or scholarly field predominantly intellectual and includes the consistent exercise of discretion and independent trial. No…

Applicability of Minimum Wage

ByROBERT ALEX FLEMING

Act No. 180 of July 27, 1998, provides that the federal minimum wage fixed by the Fair Labor Standards Act approved by the Congress of the United States of America on June 25, 1938, as it has subsequently been amended, shall automatically apply to the workers in Puerto Rico covered by the federal act. Those businesses that do not meet the criteria of the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act, and are thus exempted from the…

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Disability Benefits in Puerto Rico

ByROBERT ALEX FLEMING

Puerto Rico provides disability benefits to workers for non-work related disabilities under SINOT law (stands for ‘Non Occupational Temporary Disability Insurance’);  up to 26 weeks.  The salary of the worker determines the  rate. The minimum weekly rate is $12.00 and the maximum  is $113.00. If the disability is later determined to be work related, the worker will receive worker’s compensation benefits from the CFSE (Puerto Rico’s  public corporation that administers worker’ compensation) . Employers can…