After-hours e-mails may make Brazilians eligible for overtime
By Shasta Darlington, CNN
updated 12:38 PM EST, Wed January 18, 2012
Brazilians who receive work e-mails or phone calls after office hours could be eligible for overtime, according to a new labor law.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Getting office e-mails or calls after hours could prompt overtime
- Brazil's Supreme Labor Court will review the legislation
Sao Paulo (CNN) -- Brazilians who receive work e-mails or phone calls after office hours could be eligible for overtime, according to a new labor law.
The law says e-mails and calls from companies to employees is the equivalent of direct orders from the bosses.
The legislation, signed by President Dilma Rousseff in December, has generated many questions, doubts and arguments, according to Brazil's Labor Ministry.
"It's not clear what it means or how workers could use it," said one official at the ministry press office, who did not give her name.
Labor lawyers have been quoted in local media saying workers who answer work e-mails after hours could demand overpay.
O Globo newspaper says the Supreme Labor Court will review the issue in February when they return from recess and decide if employees are in effect working from home if they have to receive e-mails and phone calls from their employer.
Part of complete coverage on
updated 6:24 PM EDT, Tue May 22, 2012
Ben Wedeman explains how much has changed since the last presidential election, but much remains the same.
updated 10:16 AM EDT, Tue May 22, 2012
In Delhi, where there are more elephants than Mormons, Manu Joseph explores India's U.S. election-envy and why a Republican is better for India.
updated 12:35 PM EDT, Mon May 21, 2012
The wheels are coming off the wagon, says Richard Quest -- and Greece's membership of the eurozone is untenable under the current conditions.
updated 10:28 AM EDT, Tue May 22, 2012
Why some observers believe that the full story of who destroyed a Pan Am flight over Lockerbie has still to be uncovered.
Explore CNN's interactive to see where efforts to protect global areas of biological diversity have borne fruit.
updated 9:28 AM EDT, Wed May 23, 2012
Banafsheh Keynoush says Tehran wants to be accepted by the United States as a regional player in the Middle East.
updated 11:17 AM EDT, Tue May 22, 2012
For years the word "permatemp" has sent shivers down the spines of professionals around the world. Not any longer.
updated 5:57 AM EDT, Tue May 22, 2012
David Frum explains how the euro financial crisis could impact people far beyond Europe
updated 5:11 AM EDT, Tue May 22, 2012
Ten creative talents shaking up how the region is seen by the art world.
CNN looks at how Queen Elizaberth II, who marks her Diamond Jubilee this year, manages to fulfill a rigid calendar of ceremonial duties.
updated 6:35 AM EDT, Tue May 22, 2012
Switching off your cellphone during a flight may soon be a thing of the past, according to aviation experts.
updated 6:42 AM EDT, Mon May 21, 2012
What it's like to climb the world's tallest sand dunes, believed to be more than 60 million years old.
Most popular stories right now
© 2012 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
|