The Governor Of Puerto Rico Signs Law To Protect Employees’ Credit Information

On October 8, 2019, the Governor of Puerto Rico signed Act No. 150-2019, known as the “Act to Protect Employee’s Credit Information” (“the Act”).

In general terms, the Act states that an employer or potential employer cannot: terminate, deny benefits, affect an employee’s compensation, refuse to hire, promote or discriminate against an employee or job applicant based on the results of his/her credit history or credit report. The Act also prohibits employers from: (1) verifying or investigating an employee’s or job applicant’s credit history or report; and (2) requesting or obtaining an employee’s or job applicant’s credit report from a credit reporting agency, unless the position sought or held within the company is one contemplated in the Act. Among the exceptions from the prohibitions are: managerial positions, job positions regulated by OCIF or a particular federal agency, job positions with access to the company’s or clients’ financial information, job positions with fiduciary duty to the company (making payments, collections of monies, money transfers), job positions with access to the company’s trade secrets, and job positions with access to company’s cash or valuables in excess of $10,000 on a daily basis. Notably, an employer must obtain prior written consent from the employee or job applicant before requesting a copy of his/her credit report or credit history.

The Act authorizes the Secretary of the Department of Labor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (“DOL”) to receive complaints for alleged violations to this Act. It also allows the Secretary of the DOL to investigate and review compliance with this Act. The employer that does not comply with the Act will be subject to an administrative fine between $1,000 and $2,500.

The governor of Puerto Rico signs law to amend Puerto Rico’s Sexual Harassment Act

On September 27, 2019 the Governor of Puerto Rico signed Act No. 146-2019, which amends Act No. 17 of April 22, 1988, as amended (“Act 17”), known as Puerto Rico’s Sexual Harassment Act. Act No. 146 amends Act 17’s Article 11 to increase the minimum monetary fine imposed on any person found guilty of incurring in any practices prohibited by Act 17, from three thousand dollars ($3,000) to ten thousand dollars ($10,000), in those cases in which pecuniary damages are not susceptible of being ascertained.

If you have any questions or comments regarding the Act or if you’d like assistance to revise or modify your practices and policies accordingly, please contact any of the following attorneys from our Labor & Employment Practice Group at your convenience:

Juan J. Casillas Ayala	787 523-3439	jcasillas@cstlawpr.com
Luis F. Llach-Zúñiga	787 523-3498	lllach@cstlawpr.com
Israel Fernández Rodríguez	787-523-3437	ifernandez@cstlawpr.com
Luis R. Ramos Cartagena	787-523-3483	lramos@cstlawpr.com

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