Brazil: Checking email after hours? It's overtime

(AP) -- Brazilian workers who find themselves answering work emails on their smartphones after the end of their shifts can qualify for overtime under a new law.

The new legislation was approved by President Dilma Rousseff last month.

It says that company emails to workers are equivalent to orders given directly to the employee. Labor attorneys told the Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper this makes it possible for workers answering emails after hours to ask for overtime pay.

This issue has come up in the as well. In May, Chicago policeman Jeffrey Allen filed a class action suit against the city, asking for unpaid overtime compensation.

©2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Citation: Brazil: Checking email after hours? It's overtime (2012, January 13) retrieved 29 March 2024 from https://phys.org/news/2012-01-brazil-email-hours-overtime.html
This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.

Explore further

China factories break labor rules

0 shares

Feedback to editors