Danielle Di Marco
Lawyer at Marcos Martins Advogados
It is common understanding that Labor Law aims to protect workers. So much so that the employee takes legal action with the certainty that they are right and will win.
In fact, one of the main objectives of this branch of law has always been to ease the socio-economic differences between employers and employees, who, because they don’t suffer consequences, file unfounded lawsuits that border on bad faith.
However, in order to reduce abuses, most often committed by the employee, Law No. 13,467 of July 13, 2017¹ came into force, reforming the CLT² on considerable points, for example:
In relation to the benefit of free justice, article 790 restricted the benefit to the employee, whereas, with the reform, gratuity is now granted to the party that proves insufficient resources to pay the costs of the proceedings. It also made the losing party in the claim that was the subject of the expert opinion liable for payment of the expert opinion fees, even if they benefited from free legal aid.
Article 844 determined that the lawsuit would be dismissed if the plaintiff was absent from the scheduled hearing, while the company, if absent, was considered a defendant confessing to the facts alleged by the employee.
With the reform, if the employee fails to appear at the hearing, he will be ordered to pay the costs, even if he is entitled to free legal aid, unless he can prove that the absence was for a legally justifiable reason. In addition, the payment of costs is a condition for filing a new lawsuit.
With regard to the payment required to file an appeal, Article 899 did not exempt employers, but only employees benefiting from free legal aid. Currently, both beneficiaries of free legal aid and companies undergoing judicial reorganization are exempt from paying this deposit, which may even be replaced by a bank guarantee or judicial insurance guarantee.
Another considerable change is that the judge is currently allowed to initiate enforcement, ex officio, only in cases where the party is not assisted by a lawyer, under the terms of the new wording of article 878.
In this way, we conclude that even within the scope of Labor Law, the parties basically have the same rights and obligations, namely the right to appeal, the duty to prove allegations, the duty not to alter the truth of the facts, among others.
And by making it possible for plaintiffs to suffer consequences that were not previously allowed, the Reform of the Consolidation of Labor Laws has already been able to cause a considerable reduction in the number of lawsuits and wrongful claims.
The law firm Marcos Martins Advogados is always aware of legislative changes and case law understandings and positions in labor matters, maintaining its commitment to excellence in the provision of legal services to its clients by providing appropriate responses that are perfectly adjusted to the current interpretation of the Laws.
¹BRASIL. Law No. 13,467 of July 13, 2017. Amends the Consolidation of Labor Laws (CLT), DF, Jul 2017
²BRASIL. Decree-Law no. 5,452, of May 1, 1943. Approves the Consolidation of Labor Laws, DF, May 1943
