Ariadne Fabiane Velosa
Lawyer at Marcos Martins Advogados
The Regional Labor Court of the 12th Region granted an injunction in a writ of mandamus filed by a company to revoke the provisional injunction granted to the Union in a class action lawsuit concerning the company’s alleged failure to adopt protective measures to prevent employees from being infected with Covid-19.
The main reason for the decision was that the company had effectively proven that it had adopted the necessary protective measures, such as providing on-site employees with hand sanitizer and disposable masks.
It also pointed out that due to the company’s line of business (meatpacking), hygiene measures are already very strict, and the company has reinforced these measures in all circulation and rest areas, as well as hiring additional buses to maintain a safe distance between employees, in addition to keeping windows open even when the ventilation system is on. He also pointed out that the company had hired more nursing technicians to work exclusively on screening possible symptoms at the entrance to the clinic.
The reporting judge also stated that the employees whose jobs allowed them to do so were placed in the home office and the workers in the “risk group” were released.
He also pointed out that, as the company operates in an activity considered essential, it would not be possible for the company to come to a complete standstill and that, if it did, the entire medical and hospital network could do the same.
In this way, it overturned the decision for urgent relief handed down in the class action brought by the Union, authorizing the company to operate regularly and suspending the fine imposed by the judge at first instance.
