On June 20, 2022, Puerto Rico’s governor approved Act 41-2022, which includes a series of amendments to Puerto Rico’s Act 4-2017, better known as the Labor Transformation and Flexibility Act (LTFA), and other employment legislation. One of the impacted statutes is Act 180-1998, Puerto Rico’s Vacation and Sick Leave Act, which establishes the vacation and sick leave accrual entitlement for non-exempt employees in the private sector.
Among other things, section 11 of Act 41-2022 amends Article 4 of Act 180-1998 to establish the accrual entitlement of employees, commonly known as “part-time employees,” who work less 115 hours, but at least 20 hours per week. Should the employee satisfy both requirements regarding hours worked, they are entitled to accrue a half day of vacation and a half day of sick leave per month, except in the case of Puerto Rico employers with 12 or fewer employees, in which case the vacation accrual rate shall be reduced to one quarter day per month. Because of the Act’s reliance on two different time-worked concepts—to wit, total weekly and monthly hours worked—the Secretary recognized it has led to varied interpretative proposals and contrary opinions, particularly as to whether compliance with the weekly hours requirement is based on an average of weekly hours worked during a given month, or, alternatively, whether the employee must work at least 20 hours every week of the month. After reviewing the Act’s legislative history, the Secretary, in Opinion...
BEIJING – The China Coast Guard (CCG) on Thursday warned the Philippine side to immediately stop its infringements, provocations and false claims after a Philippine Coast Guard vessel transported ...