reglab/statecodes huggingface dataset:
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-NINE - Labor (§§ 1 — 3004) › PART I - Labor Provisions Generally (§§ 1 — 510k) › Chapter 21 - Bonus to Workers and Employees (§§ 501 — 507) › § 501 - Payment

Any employer who employs one or more workers or employees within the period of twelve (12) months comprised from October first of any natural year until September 30th of the subsequent natural year shall be bound to grant to each one of said employees, who have worked seven hundred (700) hours or more or one hundred (100) hours or more in the case of dock workers, within the period set forth, a bonus equal to 3% of the total wage up to maximum of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for the bonus to be granted in 2006, to 4.5% of the total wage up to a maximum of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for the bonus to be granted in 2007, to 6% of the total wage up to a maximum of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for the bonus to be granted in 2008, earned by the employee or worker within said period of time. It is hereby provided that every employer who employs fifteen (15) workers or less shall grant a bonus equal to 2.5% of the total wage up to maximum of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for the bonus to be granted in 2006, to 2.75% of the total wage up to a maximum of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for the bonus to be granted in 2007, to 3% of the total wage up to a maximum of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for the bonus to be granted in 2008. The total of the amounts to be paid by reason of said bonus shall not exceed 15% of the net annual profit of the employer, within the period comprised from September 30th of the preceding year until September 30th of the year to which the bonus corresponds. Provided, however, That on computing the total of the hours worked by an employee to receive the benefits of this chapter, those hours worked for the same employer though the services have been rendered in different businesses, industries and other activities of this employer shall be counted.
This bonus shall constitute compensation in addition to any other wages or benefits of any other nature to which the employee is entitled, but any other bonus of the same nature to which the employee is entitled shall be creditable by virtue of the individual work contract.
History —June 30, 1969, No. 148, p. 550, § 1; June 19, 1970, No. 12, p. 428, § 1; June 25, 1972, No. 27, p. 427, § 1; Sept. 29, 2005, No. 124, § 1.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-NINE - Labor (§§ 1 — 3004) › PART I - Labor Provisions Generally (§§ 1 — 510k) › Chapter 21 - Bonus to Workers and Employees (§§ 501 — 507) › § 502 - Date of payment; penalty

The payment of the bonus herein established shall be made not prior to the first (1st) nor after the fiftenth (15th) of each month of December, except in such cases in which the employer and his workers or employees may have convened by mutual agreement on another date.
If the payment of the bonus herein established is not made in the manner and within the term already set forth, or on the date in which the employer, his workers and employees may have convened, the employer shall be bound to pay, in addition to said bonus, a sum equal to one-half the sum of the bonus by reason of additional compensation when the payment has been made within the first six (6) months of its noncompliance. If the payment is delayed more than six (6) months, the employer shall be bound to pay another sum equal to said bonus, as additional compensation.
History —June 30, 1969, No. 148, p. 550, § 2; June 19, 1970, No. 12, p. 428, § 2.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-NINE - Labor (§§ 1 — 3004) › PART I - Labor Provisions Generally (§§ 1 — 510k) › Chapter 21 - Bonus to Workers and Employees (§§ 501 — 507) › § 503 - Procedure for claiming

The procedure established by §§ 3118—3132 of Title 32 may be used to make judicial claims under this chapter.
History —June 30, 1969, No. 148, p. 550, § 3.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-NINE - Labor (§§ 1 — 3004) › PART I - Labor Provisions Generally (§§ 1 — 510k) › Chapter 21 - Bonus to Workers and Employees (§§ 501 — 507) › § 504 - Employer defined

To the effects of this chapter there shall be understood by “employer” any natural or [juridical] person of any nature who, with or without the intention of profit, employs or allows to work laborers, workers or employees through any kind of compensation, and by “dock workers” those persons who work in the loading, unloading or handling of any type of article or merchandise which arrives, leaves or is stored in any of the maritime docks or piers of the island of Puerto Rico, and which are employed by employers engaged in maritime transportation.
History —June 30, 1969, No. 148, p. 550, § 4; June 19, 1970, No. 12, p. 428, § 3.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-NINE - Labor (§§ 1 — 3004) › PART I - Labor Provisions Generally (§§ 1 — 510k) › Chapter 21 - Bonus to Workers and Employees (§§ 501 — 507) › § 505 - Exclusions

Persons employed in farm activities, in household duties, or in a family residence or in charitable nonprofit institutions, and the officials and employees of the Commonwealth, its public corporations and municipalities who hold office, position or employment of a continuous or irregular character, shall be excluded from the provisions of this chapter.
History —June 30, 1969, No. 148, p. 550, § 5.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-NINE - Labor (§§ 1 — 3004) › PART I - Labor Provisions Generally (§§ 1 — 510k) › Chapter 21 - Bonus to Workers and Employees (§§ 501 — 507) › § 506 - Exceptions

The provisions of this chapter shall not apply in cases where the workers or employees receive an annual bonus by collective agreement, except in the event where the amount of the bonus to which entitled by such collective agreements may result lower than the one provided by this chapter in which case they shall receive the necessary amount to complete the bonus provided hereby.
History —June 30, 1969, No. 148, p. 550, § 6.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-NINE - Labor (§§ 1 — 3004) › PART I - Labor Provisions Generally (§§ 1 — 510k) › Chapter 23 - Annual Bonus to Agricultural Workers (§§ 510 — 510k) › § 510 - Definitions

(a) Agricultural worker.— Every person who works for pay in tasks directed to the agricultural and animal husbandry production, maintenance of a farm or its direct dependencies or incidentally to the storage, transportation, distribution and marketing of farm produce.
(b) Farmer.— Every natural or [juridical] person, engaged in agriculture in general, including all its subdivisions, such as sugarcane, livestock, poultry and others.
(c) Secretary.— The Secretary of Agriculture of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or the officer or employee whom he may delegate.
History —June 19, 1971, No. 42, p. 121, § 1; Aug. 9, 1989, No. 51, p. 176, § 1.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-NINE - Labor (§§ 1 — 3004) › PART I - Labor Provisions Generally (§§ 1 — 510k) › Chapter 23 - Annual Bonus to Agricultural Workers (§§ 510 — 510k) › § 510a - Bonus; amount; eligible workers

(a) From Fiscal Year 2009-2010 henceforth, an annual bonus shall be granted not to be less than one hundred sixty-five dollars ($165) or four percent (4%) of the worker’s annual income, whichever amount is greater, up to a maximum of two hundred thirty-five dollars ($235).
(b) This bonus shall be paid annually to those agricultural workers who have worked in Puerto Rico for not less than two hundred (200) hours or whose income is not less than two hundred dollars ($200) for wages and supplementary payments earned in agricultural tasks performed in Puerto Rico, within the period of twelve months comprised from July 1 of each year until June 30 of the following year, except as hereinafter provided in § 510j of this title in regard to the payment of the first bonus.
History —June 19, 1971, No. 42, p. 121, § 2; June 20, 1978, No. 13, p. 398, § 1; Aug. 9, 1989, No. 51, p. 176, § 2; Dec. 1, 2001, No. 168, § 1; Dec. 18, 2009, No. 187, § 1.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-NINE - Labor (§§ 1 — 3004) › PART I - Labor Provisions Generally (§§ 1 — 510k) › Chapter 23 - Annual Bonus to Agricultural Workers (§§ 510 — 510k) › § 510c - Payment by Commonwealth

The Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, through the Agriculture and Livestock Services and Development Administration, an agency attached to the Department of Agriculture, shall pay the bonus established by this chapter no later than December 5 of the corresponding year, to eligible farm workers according to the reports that are referred to in § 510d of this title.
History —June 19, 1971, No. 42, p. 121, § 4; Dec. 1, 2001, No. 168, § 2, retroactive to July 1, 2001.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-NINE - Labor (§§ 1 — 3004) › PART I - Labor Provisions Generally (§§ 1 — 510k) › Chapter 23 - Annual Bonus to Agricultural Workers (§§ 510 — 510k) › § 510d - Reports

(a) The farmers shall render to the Department of Agriculture, not later than August 31 of each year, such reports as the Secretary may require to establish the eligibility of agricultural workers, as well as for computing the amount of the bonus provided by this chapter and for the payment thereof. In such cases in which he may deem it necessary, the Secretary shall provide a form on which the farmers shall indicate the name of each worker, the Social Security Number, the total hours worked, and the income derived by their work within each specified period, as well as any other information that the Secretary may deem proper for such cases.
(b) The Secretary shall obtain from the Department of Labor and Human Resources all such information as to determine the amount of the bonus of those agricultural workers employed in the agricultural phase of the sugar industry. The information thus obtained shall be kept confidential and shall not be disclosed in any manner.
(c) To determine the amount of the bonus herein provided, the Secretary may use, in addition to the reports and information provided in accordance with the previous subsections, any information supplied to the Department of Agriculture, by virtue of the provisions of Act June 29, 1969, No. 142.
History —June 19, 1971, No. 42, p. 121, § 5.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-NINE - Labor (§§ 1 — 3004) › PART I - Labor Provisions Generally (§§ 1 — 510k) › Chapter 23 - Annual Bonus to Agricultural Workers (§§ 510 — 510k) › § 510e - Claims for failure to pay

(a) The claim of farm workers regarding the rights granted by this chapter, shall be investigated by the Department of Agriculture; Provided, That every farm worker who does not receive the annual bonus in December, may claim the payment thereof until March 31 of the following year.
(b) Neither the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico nor the Department of Agriculture shall be liable for the payment of claims of agricultural workers motivated by the unfulfillment on the part of the farmers of any of the provisions of this chapter or by information which has not been supplied.
(c) If the claimant is eligible to the payment of the bonus provided by this chapter and he failed to receive same because of noncompliance of one or more of the farmers who were his employers with any of the duties imposed by this chapter or of the regulations adopted thereunder, the worker shall be entitled to claim from such employer or employers double the amount corresponding to him for said bonus, likewise, if such violations have had the effect of reducing the amount of the bonus to which the agricultural worker was entitled, the latter may claim from said employer or employers an amount equivalent to double the difference which he failed to receive.
When the responsibility of the sustained damage should fall on more than one employer, the amount of the penalty imposed in the preceding paragraph shall be distributed among said employers in proportion to the incomes derived by the agricultural worker from each one of them.
History —June 19, 1971, No. 42, p. 121, § 6; Dec. 1, 2001, No. 168, § 3, retroactive to July 1, 2001.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-NINE - Labor (§§ 1 — 3004) › PART I - Labor Provisions Generally (§§ 1 — 510k) › Chapter 23 - Annual Bonus to Agricultural Workers (§§ 510 — 510k) › § 510f - Summons

In compliance with the duties imposed by this chapter, the Secretary may issue summons requiring the appearance of witnesses and the presentation of data or information that the Secretary may consider necessary, including payrolls, salaries and hours of work records and accounting books.
If a summons issued by the Secretary is not duly complied with, the Secretary may appear before any Part of the Court of First Instance of Puerto Rico and request that the court order compliance with the summons. The Court of First Instance shall give preference to the expedition and dispatch of said petition and shall have the authority to issue orders making compulsory the appearance of witnesses or the presentation of any data or information that the Secretary has previously required. The court shall be empowered to punish for contempt disobedience of its orders.
No person may refuse to comply with a judicial order so issued alleging that the testimony, data or information required might incriminate him or render him liable to a penalty, but said person may not be criminally prosecuted in connection with any transaction, matter or thing, in regard to which he has given testimony or produced data or information.
History —June 19, 1971, No. 42, p. 121, § 7.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-NINE - Labor (§§ 1 — 3004) › PART I - Labor Provisions Generally (§§ 1 — 510k) › Chapter 23 - Annual Bonus to Agricultural Workers (§§ 510 — 510k) › § 510g - False reports, penalties

Any natural or [juridical] person who, in the reports required by the Secretary in accordance with the provisions of § 510d of this title, gives false information shall be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not less than fifty dollars ($50) nor more than two hundred dollars ($200). He shall also be responsible for reimbursing the Department of Agriculture for any sum paid in excess to the agricultural workers for any bonus as the result of false information supplied.
History —June 19, 1971, No. 42, p. 121, § 8.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-NINE - Labor (§§ 1 — 3004) › PART I - Labor Provisions Generally (§§ 1 — 510k) › Chapter 23 - Annual Bonus to Agricultural Workers (§§ 510 — 510k) › § 510h - Action by Secretary of Labor and Human Resources on behalf of workers

The Secretary of Labor and Human Resources of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico shall be entrusted with the attainment and exercising of the necessary judicial action in benefit of the agricultural workers when claiming from their employers the amounts established in § 510e of this title. For such purposes there shall apply the provisions in the labor legislation in force or that might be approved in the future, including everything in relation to the use of special procedures and prescriptive terms.
History —June 19, 1971, No. 42, p. 121, § 9.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-NINE - Labor (§§ 1 — 3004) › PART I - Labor Provisions Generally (§§ 1 — 510k) › Chapter 23 - Annual Bonus to Agricultural Workers (§§ 510 — 510k) › § 510i - Rules and regulations

The Secretary is hereby empowered to adopt the necessary rules and regulations for the implementation of the provisions of this chapter. The regulation so adopted shall have force of law; Provided, [That the] same become effective immediately after their approval and filing in the office of the Secretary of State of Puerto Rico with the copies required by law.
History —June 19, 1971, No. 42, p. 121, § 10.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-NINE - Labor (§§ 1 — 3004) › PART I - Labor Provisions Generally (§§ 1 — 510k) › Chapter 23 - Annual Bonus to Agricultural Workers (§§ 510 — 510k) › § 510j - First bonus; amount; eligibility

(a) The bonus shall be paid directly to the agricultural workers on December of each year.
(b) Before the impossibility of compiling and of having available on time the necessary information so as to individually compute the amount of the bonus corresponding to each agricultural worker who qualifies, the first bonus to be paid on December 1971, shall be for a sum of twenty dollars ($20) for each worker.
To be eligible to receive said first bonus, the agricultural worker shall have worked in agricultural tasks during the second semester of the fiscal year 1970—71 not less than two hundred (200) hours or to have received an income of not less than two hundred dollars ($200) in agricultural tasks during said term.
History —June 19, 1971, No. 42, p. 121, § 11.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-NINE - Labor (§§ 1 — 3004) › PART I - Labor Provisions Generally (§§ 1 — 510k) › Chapter 23 - Annual Bonus to Agricultural Workers (§§ 510 — 510k) › § 510k - Use of appropriations

(a) For the payment of the first bonus to be made by the Department of Agriculture to agricultural workers as provided in this chapter, the Secretary of Agriculture is hereby authorized to use the necessary sums for the payment of the bonus corresponding to the fiscal year 1970—71, from the funds appropriated or that might be appropriated for the compliance of §§ 2001—2009 of this title and Act June 29, 1969, No. 142 and former §§ 420—420f of Title 5.
The appropriations for subsequent fiscal years shall be set aside in the budget submitted annually to the Legislature by the Governor.
(b) The Secretary is hereby authorized to use up to one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) from the funds necessary for the payment of the annual bonus to cover the administrative expenses which the execution of the provisions of this chapter may cause.
(c) The personnel appointed by the Secretary, chargeable to the funds appropriated by this chapter, shall be included in the Non-Competitive Service. In the administration of this program there shall not apply the provisions of the act which creates the Office of Transportation, Act No. 49 of Aug. 4, 1947, as amended, nor those of the act which creates the Purchase and Supplies Service, Act No. 96 of June 29, 1954, as amended.
(d) The Secretary of Agriculture is hereby authorized to transfer funds from the appropriation provided for any year pursuant to the provisions of §§ 2001—2009 of this title and Act June 29, 1969, No. 142 to complete payment of the bonus that the Department of Agriculture must give the agricultural workers. The Secretary is also authorized to transfer any surplus of funds appropriated for any year to comply with the provisions of this chapter, to be used in complying with the provisions of §§ 2001—2009 of this title and Act June 29, 1969, No 142.
History —June 19, 1971, No. 42, p. 121, § 12; Apr. 4, 1974, No. 4, Part 1, p. 103; June 21, 1977, No. 90, p. 204, § 2.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-NINE - Labor (§§ 1 — 3004) › PART II - Employment (§§ 511 — 586f) › Chapter 31 - Promotion of Employment Opportunities (§§ 511 — 534) › § 521 - Work opportunities—Promoted by Economic Development Administration

The Economic Development Administration is hereby authorized and directed to seek and promote opportunities for work for Puerto Rican workers both here and outside Puerto Rico.
History —Apr. 26, 1951, No. 148, p. 348, § 1.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-NINE - Labor (§§ 1 — 3004) › PART II - Employment (§§ 511 — 586f) › Chapter 31 - Promotion of Employment Opportunities (§§ 511 — 534) › § 522 - Work opportunities—Travel contracts between employers and Development Company

The Puerto Rico Industrial Development Company is hereby authorized and directed to execute with responsible employers contracts through which the Development Company guarantees the unpaid balance of expenditures made by the said employers in paying the travel expenses of Puerto Rican workers to any specific place for the purposes of working at employment obtained for them under the program authorized by §§ 521—524 of this title, including among other items, travel and accident insurance during the journey and lodging and subsistence expenses for an initial period of not more than two weeks; Provided, That the disbursement insured by the Development Company in the abovesaid manner shall be reimbursed to the employer by the worker through reasonable proportional deductions from his periodic pay. The scale of deductions fixed shall first be approved by the Secretary of Labor and Human Resources of Puerto Rico. Nothing herein provided shall be understood as affecting, modifying, limiting or superseding the duties, obligations and liabilities of the Secretary of Labor and Human Resources, under the provisions of Act No. 89 approved May 9, 1947, as heretofore or hereafter amended.
When any employer insured hereunder incurs in a breach of the obligations assumed by him with respect to a Puerto Rican worker, as a result of which said worker loses his job, the Industrial Development Company shall, for such reason, be relieved from any obligation or liability under the insurance contract entered into between said Company and the employer. In these cases, the Economic Development Administrator and the Secretary of Labor and Human Resources shall jointly decide what they may deem pertinent in furtherance of the public interest; but they shall, in their determination, abide by the resolution of the arbitrators, committees, governmental agencies or courts of justices passing upon these cases.
History —Apr. 26, 1951, No. 148, p. 348, § 2.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-NINE - Labor (§§ 1 — 3004) › PART II - Employment (§§ 511 — 586f) › Chapter 31 - Promotion of Employment Opportunities (§§ 511 — 534) › § 523 - Work opportunities—Cooperation of Departments of Labor and Human Resources and Education

The Departments of Labor and Human Resources and of Education of Puerto Rico shall participate in the above-said program by making available in the most effective manner possible all their facilities, including, among others, their facilities for the registration, examination, selection, recruitment, instruction, and training of workers.
History —Apr. 26, 1951, No. 148, p. 348, § 3.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-NINE - Labor (§§ 1 — 3004) › PART II - Employment (§§ 511 — 586f) › Chapter 31 - Promotion of Employment Opportunities (§§ 511 — 534) › § 524 - Work opportunities—Regulations; personnel

The Economic Development Administration is hereby authorized to draft and promulgate any regulations necessary for achieving the most effective operation and results possible under §§ 521—524 of this title, and the said regulations shall have the force and effect of law on and after the date of their publication in a newspaper of general circulation in Puerto Rico.
The Economic Development Administration is hereby empowered to appoint, contract for and fix the compensation of the necessary personnel to carry out the purposes of §§ 521—524 of this title, without subjection to the provisions of Act No. 345 of May 12, 1947, as amended, creating the Office of Personnel.
History —Apr. 26, 1951, No. 148, p. 348, § 5.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-NINE - Labor (§§ 1 — 3004) › PART II - Employment (§§ 511 — 586f) › Chapter 31 - Promotion of Employment Opportunities (§§ 511 — 534) › § 525 - Technological unemployment

It is hereby provided that the following declaration of principles constitutes a public policy of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico:
The advancement of science and its application through technology should be fully at the service of abolishing poverty in Puerto Rico.
While on the one hand, technological advancement raises labor wages, improves the competing conditions of Puerto Rican products in foreign markets, tends to lower prices in the local market and steps up the general economic development, on the other hand, it tends to cause unemployment and human suffering among the workers left out of a job because of said advancement.
Social responsibility compels us to simultaneously stimulate progress and attend to the human suffering which is temporarily one of its incidents in modern society.
History —June 8, 1962, J.R. No. 51, § 1, eff. July 1, 1962.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-NINE - Labor (§§ 1 — 3004) › PART II - Employment (§§ 511 — 586f) › Chapter 31 - Promotion of Employment Opportunities (§§ 511 — 534) › § 526 - Contracts for work abroad—Definitions

The following phrases and words shall have in §§ 526—534 of this title the meaning set forth hereinbelow:
Secretary.— Means the Secretary of Labor and Human Resources of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
Employer.— Means any natural or [juridical] person, organization or entity contracting for work, requiring, inducing, or referring to work laborers under the provisions of §§ 526—534 of this title, himself or itself, or through agents or representatives; and including the chief, officer, manager, official, promoter, administrator, superintendent, supervisor, foreman, overseer, subagent or representative of said natural or [juridical] person, organization or entity.
Laborer (or worker).— Means such person as an employer may employ or intend to employ, either through offer of payment or compensation of any kind, to work in places outside of Puerto Rico. Upon holding of public hearing, the Secretary of Labor and Human Resources may determine what laborers shall be excluded from the application of §§ 526—534 of this title.
Person.— Means an individual, company, partnership, association, corporation, administrator, contractor, subcontractor, or the agent or employee of any such.
History —June 22, 1962, No. 87, p. 228, § 9; July 21, 1977, No. 7, p. 553, § 6; renumbered as § 11 on July 13, 1978, No. 54, p. 537, § 9.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-NINE - Labor (§§ 1 — 3004) › PART II - Employment (§§ 511 — 586f) › Chapter 31 - Promotion of Employment Opportunities (§§ 511 — 534) › § 527 - Contracts for work abroad—Administrative regulation

The Secretary is hereby granted authority to intervene, personally or through his agents, in all matters concerning the contracting for workmen whose services are to be used outside of Puerto Rico, including the fixing of such administrative norms as may be deemed necessary for such purposes.
History —June 22, 1962, No. 87, p. 228, § 1.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-NINE - Labor (§§ 1 — 3004) › PART II - Employment (§§ 511 — 586f) › Chapter 31 - Promotion of Employment Opportunities (§§ 511 — 534) › § 528 - Contracts for work abroad—Information to Secretary

Every person, organization or agent purposing, himself or by any means, to recruit and contract laborers to work anywhere outside of Puerto Rico, shall get in touch with the Secretary and acquaint him, through the formularies furnished for the purpose, with everything concerning his plans, including information about the number of workers he intends to contract for; the media to be used for their transportation from Puerto Rico to their assigned working place; name and exact address of the employer; kind of work to be performed by the workers; wages to be paid them; the minimum guarantee of working hours, compensation, and other working conditions to be offered.
History —June 22, 1962, No. 87, p. 228, § 2.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-NINE - Labor (§§ 1 — 3004) › PART II - Employment (§§ 511 — 586f) › Chapter 31 - Promotion of Employment Opportunities (§§ 511 — 534) › § 529 - Contracts for work abroad—Execution of contract

Every person, organization, or agent domiciled in or outside of Puerto Rico who wishes to contract the services of workers in Puerto Rico to work outside of the Commonwealth shall execute a written contract with the persons to be employed, which shall contain the minimum guarantees fixed by the Secretary of Labor and Human Resources through regulations, and, upon its approval, the Secretary shall be committed to protect the workers’ rights pursuant to the terms thereof; Providing, That when the recruitment of migrant workers is performed through the Interstate System of the United States Employment Service, the Secretary, after having exhausted all efforts to negotiate a contract pursuant to §§ 526—534 of this title and the regulations promulgated thereunder, shall, in his discretion, relieve those employers who, in his judgment, comply with the applicable federal standards and regulations from complying with said obligation. Notwithstanding the above, the Secretary shall retain supervisory authority to guarantee full compliance of the conditions stipulated in the job offer filed by any employer.
History —June 22, 1962, No. 87, p. 228, § 3; July 21, 1977, No. 7, p. 553, § 2; July 13, 1978, No. 54, p. 537, § 1.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-NINE - Labor (§§ 1 — 3004) › PART II - Employment (§§ 511 — 586f) › Chapter 31 - Promotion of Employment Opportunities (§§ 511 — 534) › § 529a - Contracts for work abroad—Guarantee by contractor

Every contract for workers to render services abroad shall be guaranteed by the person who contracts for such services, in the manner the Secretary of Labor and Human Resources deems convenient.
History —June 22, 1962, No. 87, p. 228, added as § 4 on July 13, 1978, No. 54, p. 537, § 2.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-NINE - Labor (§§ 1 — 3004) › PART II - Employment (§§ 511 — 586f) › Chapter 31 - Promotion of Employment Opportunities (§§ 511 — 534) › § 529b - Contracts for work abroad—Technical or legal assistance

The Secretary of Labor and Human Resources, on his own account or by request of any worker, shall provide any technical or legal help he deems necessary to protect the rights and interests of the workers in the proper forum.
History —June 22, 1962, No. 87, p. 228, added as § 5 on July 13, 1978, No. 54, p. 537, § 3.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-NINE - Labor (§§ 1 — 3004) › PART II - Employment (§§ 511 — 586f) › Chapter 31 - Promotion of Employment Opportunities (§§ 511 — 534) › § 530 - Contracts for work abroad—Recruitment and transportation, authorization

It shall be unlawful, on the part of any person or organization or its agents, to recruit and/or transport laborers to work outside of Puerto Rico without due authorization of the Secretary or his authorized representative. For the purposes of this section, “transportation” shall mean any act consisting of an attempt or inducement to obtain, or to deliver, fare tickets in any public carrier for any person within the limits of Puerto Rico, to go abroad to work; as well as the physical transportation of laborers knowing that the latter are going to work outside of Puerto Rico without due authorization.
History —June 22, 1962, No. 87, p. 228, § 4, renumbered as § 6 on July 13, 1978, No. 54, p. 537, § 4.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-NINE - Labor (§§ 1 — 3004) › PART II - Employment (§§ 511 — 586f) › Chapter 31 - Promotion of Employment Opportunities (§§ 511 — 534) › § 531 - Contracts for work abroad—Regulations

The Secretary is hereby empowered to adopt, upon the holding of public hearings, any rules or regulations he may deem necessary to enforce compliance with §§ 526—534 of this title, and such rules or regulations shall, once approved by the Governor, have force of law.
History —June 22, 1962, No. 87, p. 228, § 5; July 21, 1977, No. 7, p. 553, § 3; renumbered as § 7 on July 13, 1978, No. 54, p. 537, § 5.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-NINE - Labor (§§ 1 — 3004) › PART II - Employment (§§ 511 — 586f) › Chapter 31 - Promotion of Employment Opportunities (§§ 511 — 534) › § 532 - Contracts for work abroad—Enforcement

The Secretary is hereby empowered to institute such judicial proceedings as he may deem necessary for the purpose of enforcing compliance with §§ 526—534 of this title.
History —June 22, 1962, No. 87, p. 228, § 6, renumbered as § 8 on July 13, 1978, No. 54, p. 537, § 6.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-NINE - Labor (§§ 1 — 3004) › PART II - Employment (§§ 511 — 586f) › Chapter 31 - Promotion of Employment Opportunities (§§ 511 — 534) › § 533 - Contracts for work abroad—Court of First Instance, jurisdiction

Original jurisdiction is hereby conferred upon the Court of First Instance of Puerto Rico to take cognizance of any proceedings for the violation of the provisions of §§ 526—534 of this title and in relation with the terms of the contract subscribed hereunder.
History —June 22, 1962, No. 87, p. 228, § 7; July 21, 1977, No. 7, p. 553, § 4; renumbered as § 9 on July 13, 1978, No. 54, p. 537, § 7.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-NINE - Labor (§§ 1 — 3004) › PART II - Employment (§§ 511 — 586f) › Chapter 31 - Promotion of Employment Opportunities (§§ 511 — 534) › § 534 - Contracts for work abroad—Penalties

Any person violating §§ 526—534 of this title or any section or provision thereof, or any rule or regulation promulgated thereunder, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars ($500) or by imprisonment in jail for a period of not more than six (6) months or by both penalties, in the discretion of the court. In case of recidivism, by a fine of not less than two hundred dollars ($200) nor more than five hundred dollars ($500) shall be imposed upon him, or he shall be imprisoned in jail for a term of not less than one month nor more than three (3) months, or by both penalties in the discretion of the court. In addition he shall be bound to civil responsibility:
(1) By a sum equal to double the amount of the damages caused to the worker or applicant for an employment in the event of breach of the terms of the contract subscribed pursuant to the provisions hereof; or
(2) by a sum of not less than one hundred dollars ($100) nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), in the discretion of the court, if the pecuniary damages could not be determined, or
(3) double the amount of the damages caused, if the latter were lower than one hundred dollars ($100).
History —June 22, 1962, No. 87, p. 228, § 8; July 21, 1977, No. 7, p. 553, § 5; renumbered as § 10 on July 13, 1978, No. 54, p. 537, § 8.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-NINE - Labor (§§ 1 — 3004) › PART II - Employment (§§ 511 — 586f) › Chapter 33 - Employment Agencies (§§ 551 — 574) › § 551 - Public Employment Service—Short title and purpose

Sections 551—563 of this title shall be known as the “Puerto Rico Public Employment Service Act”. The purpose of §§ 551—563 of this title is to establish in Puerto Rico a system of free public employment offices for workers seeking employment and for employers seeking workers and to obtain for Puerto Rico the benefits of the Act of Congress approved June 6, 1933 (48 Stat. 113), as amended, known as the Wagner-Peyser Act.
History —Dec. 20, 1950, No. 12, p. 356, § 1.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-NINE - Labor (§§ 1 — 3004) › PART II - Employment (§§ 511 — 586f) › Chapter 33 - Employment Agencies (§§ 551 — 574) › § 552 - Public Employment Service—Acceptance of provisions of Wagner-Peyser Act

Puerto Rico hereby accepts the provisions of the Act of Congress entitled “An act to provide for the establishment of a national employment system and for cooperation with the States in the promotion of such system and for other purposes”, approved June 6, 1933 (48 Stat. 113), as amended.
History —Dec. 20, 1950, No. 12, p. 356, § 2.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-NINE - Labor (§§ 1 — 3004) › PART II - Employment (§§ 511 — 586f) › Chapter 33 - Employment Agencies (§§ 551 — 574) › § 553 - Public Employment Service—Administrative organization

The system of public employment offices created pursuant to the provisions of §§ 551—563 of this title shall be known as the “Puerto Rico Employment Service Affiliated with the United States Employment Service” and shall be administered through the Bureau of Employment and Migration in the Puerto Rico Department of Labor and Human Resources. The Secretary of Labor and Human Resources shall, through such bureau, establish and maintain free public employment offices in such form and in such places as may be necessary for the proper administration of §§ 551—563 of this title and for the purpose of performing such duties as are within the purview of said Act of Congress. The Secretary of Labor and Human Resources is hereby authorized and directed to appoint, in accordance with standards promulgated by the United States Secretary of Labor for the establishment and maintenance of a merit system for the administrative personnel, a Director and sufficient personnel to carry out the purposes of §§ 551—563 of this title. The Director and all employees shall be appointed within the Competitive Service of the Commonwealth Government. The bureau shall be administered by the Director, who shall, for the salary he may receive, devote his full time to the duties of the office. The bureau is hereby designated and constituted the agency for Puerto Rico for the purpose of said Act of Congress, with full power and authority to cooperate with all authorities of the United States having powers or duties under said Act of Congress, and to do and perform all things necessary to secure to Puerto Rico the benefits of such Act in the promotion and maintenance of a system of public employment offices.
History —Dec. 20, 1950, No. 12, p. 356, § 3.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-NINE - Labor (§§ 1 — 3004) › PART II - Employment (§§ 511 — 586f) › Chapter 33 - Employment Agencies (§§ 551 — 574) › § 554 - Public Employment Service—Retention of personnel of United States Employment Service for Veterans

The Secretary of Labor and Human Resources shall, upon receipt of notice of approval by the United States Department of Labor of the Puerto Rico plan of operation, take forthwith such action as may be required by such plan, and provide for the appointment to and, subject to the provisions of §§ 551—563 of this title, the retention in the Puerto Rico Employment Service of the personnel of the United States Employment Service for Veterans of Puerto Rico who may be engaged in employment service activities in Puerto Rico on the date of the approval of this act, except those retained on the staff of the Veterans Employment Representative of the United States Employment Service.
History —Dec. 20, 1950, No. 12, p. 356, § 4.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-NINE - Labor (§§ 1 — 3004) › PART II - Employment (§§ 511 — 586f) › Chapter 33 - Employment Agencies (§§ 551 — 574) › § 555 - Public Employment Service—Personnel status

Any employee of the Bureau of Employment and Migration in employment service activities, and any employee of the United States Employment Service for Veterans of Puerto Rico, who on the effective date of this act does not have employee status within the competitive service and who is appointed to the Puerto Rico Employment Service pursuant to §§ 551—563 of this title shall, within ninety (90) days after receipt of the notice of approval specified by § 554 of this title or, in the case of personnel of the United States Employment Service for Veterans, within ninety (90) days after appointment, be afforded a reasonable opportunity to acquire such status within the competitive service by taking, on a qualifying basis, the examination of the Office of Personnel for the position which he occupied on the date of enactment of this act or for the nearest comparable position. Any employee who, within said ninety (90) days is assigned to a position higher than the one which he occupied on the date of the approval of this act shall, concurrently with or immediately following the said examination, be given an opportunity for promotion to such higher position to which he was assigned, in accordance with the procedure established pursuant to the Personnel Act, Act May 12, 1947, No. 345.
History —Dec. 20, 1950, No. 12, p. 356, § 5.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-NINE - Labor (§§ 1 — 3004) › PART II - Employment (§§ 511 — 586f) › Chapter 33 - Employment Agencies (§§ 551 — 574) › § 556 - Public Employment Service—Salary adjustment for personnel

During the ninety (90) day period provided for in § 555 of this title, any employee referred to in said § 555 of this title shall receive at least the same salary he was receiving on the day immediately preceding such transfer or appointment. At the expiration of such period each such employee shall be paid at the salary rate in the appropriate range nearest his prior salary, not exceeding the maximum rate for the class and grade in which his position is classified, in accordance with Act No. 345 of May 12, 1947, as amended. All such employees who fail to acquire employee status within the competitive service pursuant to § 555 of this title shall be promptly separated from the position they may be discharging in the Puerto Rico Employment Service.
History —Dec. 20, 1950, No. 12, p. 356, § 6.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-NINE - Labor (§§ 1 — 3004) › PART II - Employment (§§ 511 — 586f) › Chapter 33 - Employment Agencies (§§ 551 — 574) › § 557 - Public Employment Service—Employment Service Administration Fund

There is hereby created a special account to be known as the “Employment Service Administration Fund”. All moneys deposited or paid into said fund shall be continuously available to the Secretary of Labor and Human Resources for expenditure in accordance with the provisions of §§ 551—563 of this title, and shall not lapse at any time or be transferred to any other fund. The fund shall consist of all moneys received for the administration of §§ 551—563 of this title from the United States or any agency thereof, or from any other source; all moneys received from any agency of the United States or any state or territory as compensation for services or facilities supplied to any such agency by the Puerto Rico Employment Service; all amounts received pursuant to any surety bond or insurance policy or from other sources for losses sustained by the Employment Service Administration Fund, or by reason of damage to property, equipment, or supplies; and all moneys received from the sale or disposal of any such property, equipment, or supplies which may cease to be necessary for the proper administration of §§ 551—563 of this title.
History —Dec. 20, 1950, No. 12, p. 356, § 7; Apr. 5, 1952, No. 23, p. 58, § 1.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-NINE - Labor (§§ 1 — 3004) › PART II - Employment (§§ 511 — 586f) › Chapter 33 - Employment Agencies (§§ 551 — 574) › § 558 - Public Employment Service—Funds secured by depositary bank

Moneys belonging to the Employment Service Administration Fund pursuant to the provisions of § 557 of this title shall be secured by the depositary bank by collateral in the full amount of the funds on deposit. Such security shall consist of:
(a) United States Government obligations, direct or guaranteed, and
(b) direct obligations of Puerto Rico. Such collateral security shall be pledged at not to exceed the face value of the obligation, and shall be kept separate and distinct from any collateral security pledged to secure other funds of Puerto Rico.
History —Dec. 20, 1950, No. 12, p. 356, § 8.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-NINE - Labor (§§ 1 — 3004) › PART II - Employment (§§ 511 — 586f) › Chapter 33 - Employment Agencies (§§ 551 — 574) › § 559 - Public Employment Service—Appropriation and payment of moneys in fund

All moneys granted, accruing to or received by the Employment Service Administration Fund are hereby appropriated for the purposes mentioned in §§ 551—563 of this title and shall be paid out by the Secretary of the Treasury only upon vouchers prepared, approved and certified to by the Director of the Puerto Rico Employment Service or his agent duly authorized for such purpose. All moneys in this fund shall be expended solely for the purposes and in the amounts found necessary by the Secretary of Labor and Human Resources for the proper and efficient administration of the Puerto Rico Employment Service.
History —Dec. 20, 1950, No. 12, p. 356, § 9; Apr. 5, 1952, No. 23, p. 58, § 1.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-NINE - Labor (§§ 1 — 3004) › PART II - Employment (§§ 511 — 586f) › Chapter 33 - Employment Agencies (§§ 551 — 574) › § 560 - Public Employment Service—Secretary of Treasury’s liability

The Secretary of the Treasury shall be liable on his official bond for the faithful performance of his duties in connection with the Employment Service Administration Fund provided under §§ 551—563 of this title. Such liability on the official bond of the Secretary of the Treasury shall be effective immediately upon the effectiveness of this act, and such liability shall exist in addition to any liability upon any separate bond existing on the effective date of this act, or which may be given in the future.
History —Dec. 20, 1950, No. 12, p. 356, § 10.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-NINE - Labor (§§ 1 — 3004) › PART II - Employment (§§ 511 — 586f) › Chapter 33 - Employment Agencies (§§ 551 — 574) › § 561 - Public Employment Service—Replacement of fund money lost or misspent

If the United States Secretary of Labor should find that any sum of money appertaining to the Employment Service Administration Fund has, because of any action or contingency, been lost or expended for purposes other than, or in amounts in excess of, those determined by said Secretary to be necessary for the proper and efficient administration of §§ 551—563 of this title, such sum shall be replaced from the sum therefor appropriated from the general funds of Puerto Rico to the Employment Service Administration Fund for expenditure as provided in § 557 of this title. Upon receipt from the Secretary of Labor of notice of such findings, the Director of the Budget shall forthwith report to the Governor the amount required to replace the sum in question, and the Governor shall, at the earliest opportunity, submit to the Legislature a request for the appropriation of such amount.
History —Dec. 20, 1950, No. 12, p. 356, § 11.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-NINE - Labor (§§ 1 — 3004) › PART II - Employment (§§ 511 — 586f) › Chapter 33 - Employment Agencies (§§ 551 — 574) › § 562 - Public Employment Service—Advisory Council; establishment, members, purpose, expenses

The Secretary of Labor and Human Resources shall establish an Advisory Council composed of men and women representing employers and employees in equal number, and representing the public interest for the purpose of fixing policies and discussing problems relating to the employment of workers and to the assurance of impartiality, neutrality and freedom from political influence in the solution of such problems. Members of the Advisory Council shall be selected from time to time in such manner as the Governor shall prescribe, and shall be paid per diems not exceeding fifteen dollars ($15) for each day they attend Council meetings, and shall be reimbursed for necessary traveling expenses in accordance with regulations therefor, applicable to employees of the Commonwealth Government. The Council shall have access to all files and records of the Puerto Rico Employment Service.
History —Dec. 20, 1950, No. 12, p. 356, § 12.