Back in 2017, Brazil enforced a number of new labor laws, and now after a few years of trial and error through implementation, there are some reforms scheduled to take place during 2020. For the past 3.5 years, this country has been working towards the assent of many reforms, while slowly building momentum and gaining approval from employees across the nation.

First of all, a number of specific employment factors were affected by the laws passed in 2017 (including intermittent work policies, immaterial or moral damages, and monetary restitution). These factors have been criticized based on many considerations. For instance, the new laws surrounding intermittent work policies have created precarious working conditions that are unstable at the best of times. The purpose of this part of the reform has also been to set some standards for the process used to calculate immaterial damages incurred from the use of intermittent work policies. These standards are being developed to include the seriousness of the offense and the role that the employee plays within the organization.

While some have argued that creating standardizations for these calculations would go against other laws in the legislation, the reform suggests that these standardized calculations used for restitution should be considered as a starting point in the event of ever being used, and that these instances of offense will still require case-by-case handling.

Additionally, the Brazilian General Data Protection Law (LGPD) is slated to come into effect on August 15, 2020. This legislation is similar to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) of the European Union. This law has been created to provide new regulations regarding how personal data is processed for Brazilian citizens. It is interesting to note that data processors that lie outside of the country of Brazil are still expected to follow the LGPD as long as they are collecting personal information and data from Brazilian citizens. The LGPD was created with the intention of synthesizing the multiple other systems and frameworks that were implemented in Brazil (including the country’s civil rights framework, Internet Act, and Consumer Protection Code) and combining them all together to make it easier for people to find the legislation and abide by it, as well as to make it easier to enforce it.

The standards of the LGPD remain that people have a number of rights when it comes to their personal data. If a Brazilian citizen provides their personal data, they then have complete access and rectification opportunity for this data. As well, they can choose to redact or eliminate this information, have it deleted, be told if their information will be shared with a third party, receive information regarding consent and refusal of consent, and can also revoke consent. The LGPD also maintains strict security guidelines that will do everything possible to protect the personal data collected from any unauthorized access.

While the LGPD is new and still in a state of growing pains, it is important to remember that previous legislation (such as the Consumer Protection Code) will remain lawful and in effect throughout the country. There are also a number of stipulations regarding what is considered personal data, and how anonymous data is to be collected and secured. With these changes coming into effect in August of 2020, it is highly recommended that if you operate an organization in Brazil that collects any types of personal data, that you connect with an employment law specialist in your region to ensure that you are compliant and in alignment with the policies of the LGPD prior to this reform taking effect on August 15, 2020.