News

On August 20, 2024, Federal District Judge Ada Brown, of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, issued a judgment that sets aside the U.S. Federal Trade

On June 12, 2024, the Minimum Wage Evaluation Commission approved the increase of the state minimum wage from $9.50 to $10.50, effective July 1, 2024, after evaluating the economic report that analyzed the impact of the minimum wage increase as provided by Act 47-2021, known as the Puerto Rico Minimum Wage Act.

On April 23, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division published its Final Rule increasing the Fair Labor Standards Act’s annual salary threshold for exempt employees classified as executive, administrative or professional.

On January 17, 2024, Puerto Rico Governor Pedro R. Pierluisi Urrutia signed into effect Act 27-2024, known as the “Act to Facilitate the Implementation of Remote Work in Private Companies and Encouragement to Establish Airline Bases in Puerto Rico”, which aims to encourage companies without business operations in Puerto Rico to recruit employees domiciled on the Island and allow them to work remotely from here.

On January 10, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor published on its Final Rule modifying Wage and Hour Division regulations to provide guidance regarding whether workers are employees or independent contractors under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The Final Rule rescinds a 2021 DOL rule defining the concept of an independent contractor.

El 8 de junio de 2023, la Corte Suprema de Estados Unidos determinó unánimemente que la Primera Enmienda no escuda a «Bad Spaniels», un juguete para perros que parodia la botella de whiskey Jack Daniel’s, de reclamaciones de infracción de marca y disminución de carácter distintivo.

Es prudente procurar una evaluación sobre la registrabilidad de una marca antes de iniciar el proceso de solicitud e incurrir los gastos relacionados.

El 9 de febrero de 2023, el Tribunal Supremo del estado de Florida estableció que un appraiser tiene que ser disinterested, por lo cual no puede tener un interés económico en la reclamación.

On October 30, 2022, the Puerto Rico Department of Labor and Human Resources published the anticipated model protocol to prevent and manage sexual harassment cases which may be adopted by employers to comply with the requirement of Act 82-2022 which amended Act 17-1988.

On September 28, 2022, Puerto Rico Governor Pedro R. Pierluisi Urrutia signed into law Act No. 82-2022, which amends Act. No. 17-1988, known as “Law to Prohibit Sexual Harassment in the Workplace”.

On June 20, 2022, Puerto Rico Governor Pedro R. Pierluisi Urrutia, signed into law Act 41-2022, which amends the “Employment Transformation and Flexibility Act”.

On May 12, 2022, the Puerto Rico Department of Health updated the Guide for the Investigation of Cases and Contract Tracing for COVID-19, by reducing the isolation and quarantine periods. This Guide applies to private sector employers, public sector employers and educational institutions.

On January 4, 2022, the Puerto Rico Department of Health issued the updated Protocol for the Management of Covid-19 Cases in the Workplace, establishing guidelines to prevent the spread of Covid-19 in the workplace and the reentry of employees who have been infected and/or exposed to Covid-19.

On November 15, 2021, Puerto Rico Governor Pedro R. Pierluisi Urrutia issued Executive Order OE-2021-075, which became effective immediately. This latest Executive Order highlights the effectiveness of the measures taken until now by the Government of Puerto Rico in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic.

Effective November 5, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued its emergency temporary standard to protect employees from the spread of the coronavirus in the workplace.

On September 21, 2021, Puerto Rico Governor Pedro R. Pierluisi Urrutia signed into law Act No. 47 which was recently approved by the Senate and House of Representatives to raise the state minimum wage in Puerto Rico from $7.25 per hour by gradual annual increases up to $10.50 per hour.

On July 29, 2021, Puerto Rico Governor Pedro R. Pierluisi Urrutia signed into law Act No. 15-2021 (“Act 15-2021”), an amendment to Act. No. 42-2017 known as the Law to Manage the Study, Development and Research of Cannabis for Innovation, Applicable Standards and Limits.