Employment at Will in Puerto Rico

Employment at will is the doctrine  that  allows an employer in the United States to terminate an employee at any time, without notice and without cause, so long as it is not prohibited by a particular law (e.g.  discriminatory reasons such as age, sex or race). Puerto Rico  employment laws are different.  Local law 80 (wrongful discharge/termination) modifies this doctrine  by including a statutory penalty in the form of a severance payment to the employee. This means that employers in Puerto Rico are free to terminate employees in similar fashion as long as they pay the severance.

The severance under Act 80 depends on the years of service.  If the individual was employed for less than five years, he/she  is entitled to the equivalent of two month’s pay plus one week of pay for each completed year of service;  for  employees who completed at least five but less than fifteen years of service, severance equals  three months’ pay plus two weeks per year of service; and if more than fifteen years of service, the individual  is entitled to receive six months’ pay plus three weeks per completed year of service.