Mariana Saroa de Souza, lawyer at Marcos Martins Advogados.
Law 14.457/22 brought innovations to CIPA, which is now called the Internal Commission for the Prevention of Accidents and Harassment. The new guideline is part of the Emprega + Mulheres Program, which amends the Consolidation of Labor Laws (CLT) with the aim of encouraging the hiring and retention of women in the job market.
The new legislation requires companies that have a CIPA to adopt measures to prevent and combat sexual harassment and other forms of violence in the workplace.
According to the law, companies must take steps to create and maintain a safe and healthy working environment for their employees, providing mechanisms to detect and combat this type of abusive conduct.
Therefore, in order to promote a healthy, safe working environment that favors the inclusion and retention of women in the job market, companies, in conjunction with CIPA, must adopt a number of measures to prevent and combat violence against women in the workplace, such as:
- Inclusion of rules of conduct regarding sexual harassment and other forms of violence in the company’s internal rules, with wide dissemination of their content to employees;
- Setting up information sheets, with procedures for receiving and following up on complaints (anonymous and confidential complaints channel to be set up by the company), ensuring that the facts are investigated and administrative sanctions are applied to those directly and indirectly responsible, where appropriate, without prejudice to the appropriate legal procedures;
- Inclusion of issues related to preventing and combating sexual harassment and other forms of violence in CIPA activities and practices;
- At least every 12 months, training, orientation and awareness-raising activities for employees at all levels of the company on issues related to violence, harassment, equality and diversity in the workplace, in formats that are accessible, appropriate and show maximum effectiveness.
It is important to note that, in order to comply with the new law regarding measures to prevent and combat harassment, all companies that have CIPA must adapt to the new provisions by March 21, 2023, a deadline of 180 days from the date of publication of the law.
Companies that fail to comply with the guidelines of the new law could be fined, in addition to other sanctions that could be applied by the Ministry of Labor.
In the event of negligence on the part of the company, irregularities such as harassment, bullying and other types of violence could also result in fines and damage that could be irreparable to the image of the business.
Therefore, in order for the company to adapt to the terms of the new law, considering the relevance of the issue, the support of professionals specialized in the area is of the utmost importance.
