reglab/statecodes huggingface dataset:
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 221 - Purchase of Equipment, Supplies and Services (§§ 4501 — 4508) › § 4503 - Public bidding—Purchase of heavy equipment outside of Puerto Rico

Municipalities are authorized to acquire new or used heavy equipment by regular purchase outside of Puerto Rico when its price abroad, including freight, haulage, insurance and any other charges required to import it into the country is less than that on the local market, and the equipment to be acquired is not deemed to be a Puerto Rican product pursuant to Act No. 42 of August 5, 1989, known as “Government of Puerto Rico Preferential Purchasing Act”.
For every purchase made under the provisions of this section, at least three (3) quotations shall be obtained from accredited suppliers or dealers outside of Puerto Rico. These quotations shall be submitted to the determination of the Bidding Board, together with the quotations of three (3) local suppliers, and the purchase authorization shall be made in view of the prices in such quotations, in a like manner as if it had been made by public bidding.
The Commissioner shall establish by regulation, the minimum requirements that the municipalities should exact from suppliers abroad, as well as the procedures and norms that shall govern the purchase of heavy equipment outside of Puerto Rico.
To the effects of this section, “heavy equipment” shall mean construction, earth-moving and paving equipment, vehicles and machinery for the collection and disposal of solid waste, ambulances, fire engines, cranes, school transportation vehicles, special vehicles for the transportation of disabled or elderly persons, and others of a similar nature, excluding parts and accessories thereof.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, § 11.003; Oct. 29, 1992, No. 84, § 43; renumbered as § 10.003 on Jan. 10, 1999, No. 30, § 3.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 221 - Purchase of Equipment, Supplies and Services (§§ 4501 — 4508) › § 4505 - Bidding Board—Internal operations

Three (3) members of the Board shall constitute a quorum for the opening of bids and the consideration of matters submitted to it. All agreements and resolutions of the Board shall be taken by a majority of all of its members, unless otherwise provided in this subtitle, or any other act or ordinance.
All the Board’s decisions, agreements, determinations, resolutions and procedures shall appear in the minutes, which shall be signed and certified by the President and the Secretary thereof. The minutes shall be a permanent record of the same nature as the minutes of the Legislature. The Board shall establish the norms and procedures for its internal operations, and to carry out the functions and responsibilities that are established in this subtitle for it.
The Board may obtain whatever counsel it deems necessary for the performance of its functions, from officials or employees of any public agency, the municipality itself, and any other person, provided that the person who gives the advice is not an owner, shareholder, agent or employee of any natural or juridical person who has any direct or indirect interest in any matter which the Board must handle or adjudicate.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, § 11.005, renumbered as § 10.005 on Jan. 10, 1999, No. 30, § 3.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 221 - Purchase of Equipment, Supplies and Services (§§ 4501 — 4508) › § 4508 - Purchase of equipment; certification

(1) Every supplier, seller or entity that provides computer applications, equipment and systems to the Government of Puerto Rico, or to its instrumentalities, shall certify in writing, in the contracts executed, that said products are Y2K compliant, since they have been reprogrammed or renewed and submitted to rigorous tests to ensure their updating for the proper operation thereof upon the arrival of said year.
(2) It shall be defined as “operating properly and mitigating risks” when:
(a) The system is not affected by dates before, during and upon the arrival of year 2000.
(b) Any operation that depends on dates shall have produced consistent results before, during and after the year 2000.
(c) The year 2000 shall be recognized as a leap year.
(d) In all interconnections and data storage, the first two numbers corresponding to the millenniums of any date, must be specified, whether explicitly or through the establishment of a conversion function that does not produce ambiguous results or the use of inference rules.
History —Mar. 12, 1999, No. 92, §§ 1, 2.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 223 - Municipal Personnel (§§ 4551 — 4579) › § 4551 - Municipal personnel system—Establishment

Each municipality shall establish an autonomous system for the administration of the municipal personnel.
Said system shall be governed by the merit principle in order to provide a public service of excellence based on equity, justice, efficiency, and productivity without discrimination based on race, color, sex, birth, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, origin or social condition nor due to political or religious beliefs or for being a victim of domestic violence. Said system shall be consistent with the guidelines of the Training and Labor Affairs Advisory and Human Resources Administration Office (OCALARH, Spanish acronym), adopted by virtue of §§ 1461 et seq. of Title 3, known as the “Public Service Human Resources Administration Act of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico”.
The municipalities shall adopt a uniform personnel administration regulation that contains a uniform compensation and classification plan duly actualized for the career and trust services; a system of recruitment, selection and regulation regarding training, evaluation of employees and officers and regarding the matter of retention and dismissals.
The Central Personnel Administration Office shall provide the technical advice and assistance needed to establish the personnel administration system for each municipality, considering its size, the complexity of its organization, and the circumstances and needs thereof, in harmony with the provisions of this subtitle. This office shall prepare no later than ninety (90) days after the approval of this act, the Classification and Compensation Guidelines for Municipal Administration, which shall be used by the municipalities as a uniform guide to comply with the provisions of this subtitle in everything that concerns the drafting and approval of [the] Compensation and Positions Classification Plan. The Compensation and Position Classification Plan of the municipalities must be approved on or before May 31, 1997.
The municipalities may contract the services of private consultants specialized in personnel administration when their needs require it and their fiscal resources allow it. The consulting services contract shall include, among others, a provision regarding the civil liability of the consultant. In addition, they may use the services of the Central Personnel Administration Office by means of an agreement with it.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, § 12.001; Apr. 13, 1995, No. 36, § 35; renumbered as § 11.001 on Jan. 10, 1999, No. 30, § 3; Sept. 7, 2004, No. 258, § 27; Aug. 27, 2005, No. 107, § 1; May 29, 2013, No. 22, § 8.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 223 - Municipal Personnel (§§ 4551 — 4579) › § 4552 - Municipal personnel system—Structure

The mayor and the President of the Legislature shall be the appointing authority of their respective branches of the Municipal Government.
The Board of Appeals of the Personnel Administration System, established by §§ 1461 et seq. of Title 3, known as “Puerto Rico Public Service Personnel Act”, shall be the appellate body of the Municipal Personnel Administration System.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, § 12.002; Oct. 29, 1992, No. 84, § 46; renumbered as § 11.002 on Jan. 10, 1999, No. 30, § 3; Nov. 22, 2009, No. 151, § 2.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 223 - Municipal Personnel (§§ 4551 — 4579) › § 4555 - Municipal Personnel System—Areas essential to the merit principle

The following areas of municipal personnel administration shall be deemed essential to the merit principle:
(a) Classification of positions.
(b) Recruitment and selection.
(c) Promotions, transfers and demotions.
(d) Training.
(e) Retention.
The municipality shall adopt regulations regarding those areas that are essential to the merit principle. Said regulations shall include all those personnel areas that, even though they are not essential to the merit principle, are needed to achieve a modern and equitable personnel administration system which will expedite the application of the merit principle. Pursuant to the above, the municipality may include within these regulations, or in their place, adopt separate regulations which establish the procedures for performing controlled substances tests. These regulations shall provide, among other things:
(1) Protection of the confidentiality of the procedures and the results of the tests for controlled substances.
(2) The mechanisms for controlling the procedures and the norms to be implemented to administer the tests.
(3) [Repealed. Act Jan. 10, 1999, No. 30, § 2.]
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, § 12.005; Apr. 28, 1996, No. 26, § 2; renumbered as § 11.005 by § 3 and amended by § 2 on Jan. 10, 1999, No. 30.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 223 - Municipal Personnel (§§ 4551 — 4579) › § 4560 - Provisions on classification of positions and compensation—Retention

Every regular career employee recruited according to the provisions of this subtitle, who meets the criteria of productivity, efficiency, order and discipline which should prevail in the municipal public service, shall be entitled to permanent employment status. The municipality shall establish said criteria taking into consideration the functions of the positions and the duties, obligations and prohibitions established in this subtitle for all municipal officials and employees.
The municipality shall implement a system to evaluate the career employees’ performance and their compliance with the criteria of order and discipline. The system shall be designed according to the functional complexity and needs of the municipality. The system that is established shall provide the mechanisms for the development of the levels of excellence that promote productivity.
Employees may be required to submit to periodic medical examinations when the functions of their position justifies it, or to protect the health of the employees.
—Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, § 12.010; Oct. 29, 1992, No. 84, § 49; renumbered as § 11.010 on Jan. 10, 1999, No. 30, § 3.
History
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 223 - Municipal Personnel (§§ 4551 — 4579) › § 4562 - Employees—Disciplinary actions

When an employee’s conduct does not adjust to the established norms, the municipal nominating authority shall impose the corresponding disciplinary action. Verbal admonishments, written reprimands, suspensions of employment and salary and removals may be considered, among other measures.
(a) Any employee may be removed or suspended from employment and salary for just cause, and after written filing of charges and advising them of their right to an informal hearing.
In those cases that the employee’s conduct consists of the illegal use of public funds or when there are reasonable grounds to assume that the person is a real threat to the health, life or morals of the employees or the people in general, he/she may be summarily suspended from employment and salary after an informal hearing in which he/she is informed of the action to be taken and is given the opportunity to make a statement.
(b) The filing of charges shall be notified to the employee with a list of the facts that sustain the disciplinary action, and the laws, ordinances, rules or norms that have been violated by the employee. He/she shall be informed of his/her right to an informal administrative hearing to state his/her version of the facts.
(c) The mayor or the President of the Legislature in the case of an employee thereof shall determine the final action that corresponds, and shall give notice thereof to the employee. If the decision is to remove the employee or suspend him/her from employment and salary he/she shall be advised in writing of his/her right to appeal before the Personnel Administration System’s Board of Appeals, as provided in § 4552 of this title, within a term of thirty (30) days from the date of receipt of the notice.
(d) For the purposes of this subtitle, unjustified and unauthorized absence from work for five (5) consecutive days and the violation of the provisions of § 4561 of this title, among other similar situations, could be grounds for suspension from employment and salary, and removal.
When it is found through an administrative investigation that the imposition of corrective or disciplinary measures is not in order, the nominating authority or its authorized representative shall proceed according to the provision of subsections (d) and (e) § 4572 of this title.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, § 12.012; July 29, 1996, No. 91, § 1; renumbered as § 11.012 on Jan. 10, 1999, No. 30, § 3.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 223 - Municipal Personnel (§§ 4551 — 4579) › § 4563 - Employees—Layoffs and other separations

Layoffs may be decreed in the service upon the establishing the plan for these purposes, for the following reasons:
(a) For lack of work or funds.— Layoffs shall be decreed within the groups of employees whose positions have the same classification title, and considering the status of the employees within each group, their productivity as reflected by the periodic evaluations required by this subtitle, their habits of punctuality, and attendance at work, and their seniority in the public service.
Career employees shall be notified in writing of the procedures followed to decree the layoffs, and the criteria used. They shall also be notified of their right to appeal before the Personnel Administration Systems Board of Appeals. No layoff shall be effective unless it is notified thirty (30) days prior to its effective date.
(b) When it is determined after an evaluation process that the employee is physically or mentally disabled.
Any employee convicted for a felony, or a misdemeanor that implies moral turpitude, or for the infraction of his/her official duties, shall be removed from service pursuant to § 556 of Title 3.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, § 12.013; Apr. 13, 1995, No. 36, § 42; renumbered as § 11.013 on Jan. 10, 1999, No. 30, § 3.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 223 - Municipal Personnel (§§ 4551 — 4579) › § 4564 - Limitations of personnel transactions during election periods

In order to ensure the faithful application of the merit principle in the municipal public service at all times, the nominating authorities shall abstain from carrying out any personnel transaction that involves the areas essential to the merit principle, such as appointments, promotions, transfers, demotions, reclassifications, changes in salaries and categories of positions and employees, within a term that is comprised of the two (2) months prior to the date the general election is held, and until the second Monday in January following said election.
After due approval by the Central Personnel Administration Office, exception may be made regarding those personnel transactions deemed necessary to fulfill the needs of the service.
In those necessary cases, it shall be the responsibility of each nominating authority to request that said personnel action be excepted from the prohibition. The request must indicate the adverse effects to be prevented through the exception. Appointments that do not comply with this procedure shall be deemed null.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, § 12.014; Oct. 29, 1992, No. 84, § 50; Apr. 13, 1995, No. 36, § 43; renumbered as § 11.014 on Jan. 10, 1999, No. 30, § 3.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 223 - Municipal Personnel (§§ 4551 — 4579) › § 4567a - Fringe benefits—Paternity leave

Any employee shall be entitled to request that paternity leave with pay be granted to him, provided that he meets the following requirements:
(a) Paternity leave shall comprise a period of five (5) business days from the child’s birth.
(b) When claiming this right, the employee shall certify that he is legally married to or cohabits with the mother of the child, and that he has not incurred domestic violence. Such certification shall be made through the filing of the form required by the municipality for such purposes, which shall also include the signature of the mother of the child.
(c) The employee shall request paternity leave and submit the birth certificate as soon as possible.
(d) During paternity leave, the employee shall receive full pay.
(e) In the case of a temporary employee, paternity leave shall not exceed the period of his appointment.
(f) Paternity leave shall not be granted to employees who are enjoying any other kind of paid or unpaid leave. Employees who have been granted vacation or sick leave are exempted from this provision.
(g) The employee who, along with his spouse, adopts a preschooler, that is, a child who is five (5) years old or less and is not enrolled in school, pursuant to the laws and legislation in effect in Puerto Rico or in any other jurisdiction of the United States, shall be entitled to paternity leave for a period of five (5) days, to be counted from the date on which the notice of the judicial decree is received and, simultaneously, the child is brought to the home, which shall be certified in writing. When claiming this right, the employee shall certify that he is legally married, when applicable, and that he has not incurred domestic violence, sex offenses, or child abuse. Such certification shall be made through the filing of the form required by the municipality for such purposes, which shall also include the signature of his spouse.
(h) The employee who, individually, adopts a preschooler, that is, a child who is five (5) years old or less and is not enrolled in school, pursuant to the laws and legislation in effect in Puerto Rico or in any other jurisdiction of the United States, shall be entitled to paternity leave for a period of eight (8) weeks, to be counted from the date on which the notice of the judicial decree is received and, simultaneously, the child is brought to the home, which shall be certified in writing. When claiming this right, the employee shall certify that he has not incurred domestic violence, sex offenses, or child abuse.
(i) Subsections (d) and (f) of this section shall be equally applied in the cases in which the employee requests the benefits established in the subsections above.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, added as § 11.017A on Nov. 22, 2009, No. 151, § 7.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 223 - Municipal Personnel (§§ 4551 — 4579) › § 4567b - Fringe benefits—Adoption leave

Any female employee who adopts a preschooler, that is, a child who is five (5) years old or less and is not enrolled in school, shall be entitled to a four (4)-week leave, to be counted from the day of the adoption.
(a) Full pay and accrual of other leave.— For the duration of the maternity leave for adoption, the employee shall receive full pay. This pay shall become effective when the employee begins to enjoy the leave. Employees enjoying maternity leave for adoption shall accrue vacation and sick leave while enjoying maternity leave for adoption, provided that she returns to municipal public service at the end of the leave period. In these cases, leave time shall be credited when the employee returns to work.
(b) Request leave.— Every request for maternity leave for adoption shall be accompanied by a certification from the agency that managed the adoption process, where the adoption date shall be stated.
(c) Removal without just cause.— The adoptive mother may not be removed without just cause. Any decision that may affect the permanent status at work of an adoptive mother shall be postponed until after the period of maternity leave for adoption.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, added as § 11.017B on Nov. 22, 2009, No. 151, § 8.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 223 - Municipal Personnel (§§ 4551 — 4579) › § 4567c - Fringe benefits—Special paid leave for breastfeeding

(a) Time shall be granted to breastfeeding mothers so that, after enjoying maternity leave, they may have the opportunity to breastfeed their babies for one (1) hour during each work day, to be distributed in two (2) periods of thirty (30) minutes or three (3) periods of twenty (20) minutes.
This benefit shall be granted in those cases in which the municipality has an in-house child day care center where the mother may go to breastfeed her baby, or those cases in which she may go for milk extraction in the area designated for breastfeeding in the workplace.
(b) In the workplace, the breastfeeding period may last up to a maximum of twelve (12) months, to be counted from the day in which the employee returns to work.
(c) Those employees who wish to avail themselves of this benefit shall submit a medical certificate to the municipality, during the period corresponding to the fourth (4th) and eighth (8th) month of life of the infant, stating that they are breastfeeding mothers. Said certification shall be submitted not more than five (5) days from each period. Provided, That the municipality shall designate an area or physical space that guarantees privacy, security, and hygiene to the breastfeeding mother without it entailing the construction of physical or organizational structures, subject to the availability of resources of the government entities. The municipalities shall establish regulations regarding the operation of these breastfeeding areas.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, added as § 11.017C on Nov. 22, 2009, No. 151, § 8.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 223 - Municipal Personnel (§§ 4551 — 4579) › § 4568 - Fringe benefits—Other special leave

Municipal employees shall enjoy other paid or unpaid leave as established by regulations, such as the following:
(a) Serve as a confidential official in any Department or Agency of the Executive Branch; in any authority or agency excluded from Public Service Personnel Act, Act No. 5 of 1975, Section 10.6; in one of the agencies exempted from Act No. 5 of 1975, due to their Individual Administrator status under Section 5.3 of said Act; or in another municipality of Puerto Rico, in the confidential service.
(b) To hold a public elective office to which he/she has been elected or designated as substitute, in the Executive or Legislative Branch of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
(c) Military leave, to attend National Guard or United States Army Reserve requirements and calls to active service by the Governor of Puerto Rico or the President of the United States.
(d) For judicial purposes, to act as a witness of the People of Puerto Rico.
(e) For study or training which enhance the education and capabilities of the public servant matters pertinent to his/her employment.
(f) To participate in activities in representation of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
(g) To render volunteer services to the Civil Defense corps and other organizations that render emergency services in case of disasters.
(h) For sports activities, with the prior authorization of the mayor or his/her authorized representative.
(i) Unpaid leave shall not be granted in case that the employee means to use it to seek other employment opportunities.
(j) If the cause for which leave was granted ceases to exist, the employee must return to work immediately, or notify to the agency the reasons for which he/she is not available, or his/her decision not to return to his/her position at work.
(k) To regular career employees, to protect their regular status or those rights to which they may be entitled in case of:
(1) A disability claim before the Retirement System of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or another entity, and the employee has run out of vacation or sick leave.
(2) A work-related accident suffered by the employee and, as a result of which he/she is undergoing treatment in the State Insurance Fund, or pending a final determination related to his/her accident, and he/she has run out of vacation or sick leave.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, § 12.018; Oct. 29, 1992, No. 84, § 52; Apr. 13, 1995, No. 36, § 47; Apr. 28, 1996, No. 26, § 3; Aug. 4, 1996, No. 97, § 4; renumbered as § 11.018 on Jan. 10, 1999, No. 30, § 3; Aug. 31, 2000, No. 263, § 2; Nov. 22, 2009, No. 151, § 9.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 223 - Municipal Personnel (§§ 4551 — 4579) › § 4569 - Fringe benefits—Transfer of leave

The transfer of vacation and sick leave accrued by a municipal official or employee when he/she goes from one position to another within any agency or dependency of the Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, including those of the Legislative Branch, the Judiciary Branch and the municipalities, is hereby authorized.
The municipality shall certify, and the agency that acquires the services, shall accept and credit the number of days of leave accrued by said official or employee, up to a maximum of sixty (60) days of vacation leave and ninety (90) days of sick leave.
In a like manner, a municipality that acquires the services of an official or employee of any agency or dependency of the Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, including those of the Legislative Branch and the Judiciary Branch, shall accept and credit the number of days of vacation and sick leave accrued by said official or employee up to a maximum of sixty (60) days of vacation leave and ninety (90) days of sick leave.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, § 12.019, renumbered as § 11.019 on Jan. 10, 1999, No. 30, § 3.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 223 - Municipal Personnel (§§ 4551 — 4579) › § 4570 - Fringe benefits—Lump sum payment of accrued leave

Upon resignation or definite separation from public service for any reason, every municipal official or employee shall be entitled to receive, and shall be paid within a term of not more than thirty (30) days, a lump sum payment of money for the vacation leave he/she has accrued on the date of separation from service up to a maximum of sixty (60) working days, or any balance in excess not used due to the needs of the service and which has not been paid by the municipality, pursuant to the provisions in § 4566(b) of this title for extraordinary circumstances, as [an] exception.
In a like manner, every municipal official and employee shall be paid any accrued sick leave up to a maximum of ninety (90) working days, upon separation from the service for retirement, if he/she is a participant of the retirement system sponsored by the Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. If not, upon his/her definite separation from service, he/she shall have rendered at least ten (10) years of service. This lump sum for both kinds of leave shall be paid at the salary rate that the official or employee is earning at the moment of his/her separation from service, regardless of the number of days of this type of leave he/she enjoyed during the year.
The nominating authority is hereby empowered to authorize such payments.
Provided, further, That municipal employees may exercise the option of having said authorized lump sum payment, or part thereof, transferred to the Department of the Treasury, in order for the same to be credited as total or partial payment of any income tax debt they have at the time of exercising the option to transfer.
If the separation was caused by the death of the official or employee, the sum he/she would have been entitled to for unused vacation and sick leave, as the case may be, shall be paid to his/her heirs, pursuant to the provisions of this section.
When the rendering of services ceases, the office or position which said official or employee was performing shall be deemed vacant, and the time equivalent of the period subsequent to the date he/she ceased to perform such services, shall not be considered as time served.
The lump sum payment authorized herein shall be subject solely to the withholdings authorized by law, such as tax obligations and deductions of dues for municipal employees’ associations authorized by law.
No liquidation whatsoever of any leave shall be made to any official or employee who has not returned municipal property or documents in his/her custody on the date of his/her resignation or separation from his/her office or position.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, § 12.020, renumbered as § 11.020 on Jan. 10, 1999, No. 30, § 3; renumbered as § 11.021 on Jan. 10, 1999, No. 42, § 2; Aug. 30, 2000, No. 237, § 5; Sept. 7, 2004, No. 258, § 31.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 223 - Municipal Personnel (§§ 4551 — 4579) › § 4571 - Working day and attendance

The municipality shall administer everything concerning the employee’s working hours, working day, and attendance, according to the regulations it adopts. The regular working day shall not exceed eight (8) hours a day nor forty (40) hours a week. Every employee shall be granted one hour to partake of food during his/her regular working day.
When employees render services in excess of their working day or week, on their days of rest on any holiday, or on any day that services are suspended by municipal ordinance, they shall be entitled to receive compensatory leave at a rate of time and a half or payment in cash, as provided in the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. Employees who render professional, administrative or executive functions may be excepted form this provision.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, § 12.021; Apr. 13, 1995, No. 36, § 48; renumbered as § 11.021 on Jan. 10, 1999, No. 30, § 3; renumbered as § 11.022 on Jan. 10, 1999, No. 42, § 2.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 223 - Municipal Personnel (§§ 4551 — 4579) › § 4572 - Employee files

Each municipality shall keep a file of its employees that reflects their complete history from the date they originally enter public service until the date of their definite separation from service.
(a) When an employee is moved from one municipality to another, or from one agency or dependency of the Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico to a municipality, the agency or municipality from which he/she is moved shall transfer his/her file to the municipality to which he/she shall go to render services.
(b) The individual files of the employees shall be confidential in nature. Every employee shall have the right to examine his/her personal file.
(c) Everything concerning the conservation and disposition of the files of those employees who leave the service shall be established by regulations.
(d) When it is found through an administrative investigation that the imposition of corrective measures or disciplinary actions is not in order, no reference related to said investigation may be included in the personnel file of the employee. Nor shall any reference whatsoever to said investigation be included when the Board of Appeals of the Personnel Administration System or a court with jurisdiction determines that the imposition of corrective or disciplinary measures is not in order.
(e) In those cases in which the employee has been removed from office or suspended from work and salary, when the Board of Appeals of the Personnel Administration System or a court with jurisdiction orders the reinstatement of the employee to the same or a similar position to that he/she held, and after completing the compensation process, the partial or total payment of salaries, and reinstating the fringe benefits which the employee failed to receive from the effective date of the removal or the suspension from work and salary, all references to the removal or suspension from work and salary to which he/she was subject shall eliminated from the employee’s personnel file. In cases of removal, notice shall also be given to the Central Personnel Administration Office, so that any reference to the removal shall be eliminated therefrom.
In such cases and only when it is necessary to refer to the reason which motivated the payment to be made, this subtitle shall be used for said reference. It being understood that under no circumstance may direct appeals of the Personnel Administration System or the corresponding court, which rendered the removal or suspension of the employee ineffective.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, § 12.022; July 29, 1996, No. 91, § 2; renumbered as § 11.022 on Jan. 10, 1999, No. 30, § 3; renumbered as § 11.023 on Jan. 10, 1999, No. 42, § 2.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 223 - Municipal Personnel (§§ 4551 — 4579) › § 4573 - Savings and retirement

Municipal employees shall be entitled to avail themselves of §§ 862 et seq. of Title 3, which creates the Savings and Loan Fund of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico Employees Association, as well as of §§ 761 et seq. of Title 3, known as “Government of Puerto Rico and Its Instrumentalities Employees Retirement Systems Act”, or any other pension or retirement system subsidized by the Government of Puerto Rico to which they are contributing on the date of approval of this act.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, § 12.023, renumbered as § 11.023 on Jan. 10, 1999, No. 30, § 3; renumbered as § 11.024 on Jan. 10, 1999, No. 42, § 2.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 223 - Municipal Personnel (§§ 4551 — 4579) › § 4574 - Central Personnel Administration Office; functions

The Central Personnel Administration Office shall provide, by request of the municipality, the advice and technical assistance needed to develop their personnel systems, as provided in this subtitle. The municipality shall defray the cost of such services, except in those cases that the Director of the Central Personnel Administration Office decides to offer the services free of charge.
The Central Personnel Administration Office shall periodically study the development of the merit principle in the municipality, to be in the best position to furnish the technical advice and assistance authorized in this section.
The municipality shall make available to said Office all the information, records and files needed to carry out the studies. This Office shall render a report by July 1995 with pertinent recommendations to the Governor, the Legislature [of Puerto Rico] and the municipal nominating authorities, on the scope of the application of the provisions of this subtitle.
Any person who submits to the recruitment procedure to enter the municipal government, and is ineligible to enter municipal service for incurring in causes for ineligibility as established by law; and every career, transitory or irregular employee who has been dismissed by any municipal government, may request the Director of the Central Personnel Administration Office to be reinstated as established in Section 3.4 of Act No. 5 of October 14, 1975, as amended, known as the “Puerto Rico Public Service Personnel Act”.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, § 12.024; Oct. 29, 1992, No. 84, § 53; Apr. 13, 1995, No. 36, § 49; renumbered as § 11.024 on Jan. 10, 1999, No. 30, § 3; renumbered as § 11.025 on Jan. 10, 1999, No. 42, § 2.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 223 - Municipal Personnel (§§ 4551 — 4579) › § 4575 - Legal status of the employees on the effective date of this act

Employees who on the effective date of this act are holding permanent career positions in the municipality for which they have been recruited and selected pursuant to the criteria of the merit principle and who meet the minimum requirements established for the category of the position they hold, shall remain in their regular career status. The employees shall also have complied with the general conditions for recruitment into the public service in order to maintain said status.
Employees who are performing transitory or fixed duration functions in the municipality which correspond to the career service on the effective date of this act, shall acquire transitory status.
Employees under contract who have performed their functions for a period of less than ninety (90) days, shall continue to work under contract until they complete the ninety (90) day term.
Employees who are performing permanent functions in the municipality corresponding to the confidential service on the effective date of this act, shall acquire confidential status.
The employees of the Municipal Legislature who on the effective date of this act are performing permanent functions corresponding to the career service, shall hold confidential positions in said Legislative Body. Upon separation from the confidential service, they shall have the absolute right to be reinstated in a position equal or similar to the last one they held in the career service in any municipal dependency, if they had been recruited pursuant to the criteria of the merit principle and meet the minimum requirements established for the category of the position they hold.
Employees shall retain all vested rights according to all applicable laws, norms, and regulations, provided they are compatible with the provisions of this subtitle.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, § 12.025; Oct. 29, 1992, No. 84, § 54; Aug. 11, 1996, No. 120, § 1; renumbered as § 11.025 on Jan. 10, 1999, No. 30, § 3; renumbered as § 11.026 on Jan. 10, 1999, No. 42, § 2.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 223 - Municipal Personnel (§§ 4551 — 4579) › § 4576 - Penalties

(a) Any person who intentionally violates any of the provisions of this subtitle or who violates the ordinances, regulations or norms approved by virtue hereof, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be punished by a fine of not less than twenty-five dollars ($25) nor more than five hundred dollars ($500), or by imprisonment for a term of not more than ninety (90) days, or both penalties, in the discretion of the court, unless the actions performed are punishable under the provisions of § 1828 of Title 3, known as “Ethics in Government Act of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico” or any other legal provision.
(b) Any sum of money paid with regard to personnel actions in contravention of the provisions of this subtitle, the regulations, and norms approved pursuant thereto, shall be recovered from the official or employee who, by carelessness or negligence, approves or countersigns the personnel action, or from the one who approves said payment, or who signs or countersigns the voucher, payrolls, checks, or payment order; or the bonds of said official. The monies thus recovered shall be covered into the treasury of the corresponding municipality, as the case may be.
(c) The municipal nominating authorities shall have the obligation of imposing appropriate disciplinary action on any official or employee who, by carelessness or negligence, fails to comply with any of the provisions of this subtitle, or of the ordinances, regulations or norms approved by virtue thereof.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, § 12.026; Oct. 29, 1992, No. 84, § 55; renumbered as § 11.026 on Jan. 10, 1999, No. 30, § 3; renumbered as § 11.027 on Jan. 10, 1999, No. 42, § 2.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 223 - Municipal Personnel (§§ 4551 — 4579) › § 4577 - Relationship with other laws

From the effective date of this act, the municipalities shall be excluded from the provisions of Act No. 5 of October 14, 1975, known as the “Public Service Personnel Act”, except with regard to Section 7 thereof, which establishes the Board of Appeals of the Personnel Administration System, which shall continue to apply to the municipalities. Every action or decision of the Board of Appeals shall be governed by the legal situation in effect when the acts subject to the action or decision occurred.
Likewise, the municipalities shall be excluded from Act No. 89 of July 12, 1979, known as the “Uniform Compensation Act”.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, § 12.027; Oct. 29, 1992, No. 84, § 56; renumbered as § 11.027 on Jan. 10, 1999, No. 30, § 3; renumbered as § 11.028 on Jan. 10, 1999, No. 42, § 2.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 223 - Municipal Personnel (§§ 4551 — 4579) › § 4578 - Effectiveness

The municipalities shall approve the classification and compensation plans, the employee evaluation systems, and the regulations provided in this subtitle not later than six (6) months after the approval of this act, and if these have already been approved, they shall continue to be in effect. Said classification and compensation plans must be approved by the Municipal Legislature in order to be ratified, and shall take effect ninety (90) days after being submitted to the consideration of said Legislature, except when it returns them with objections and recommendations to the mayor before the expiration date of that term. The classification and compensation plans, the employee evaluation systems, and the regulations approved by virtue of Act No. 5 of October 14, 1975, known as the “Puerto Rico Public Service Personnel Act”, shall continue in effect until they are replaced by those that are adopted by virtue of this subtitle and §§ 1461 et seq. of Title 3, known as the “Public Service Human Resources Administration Act”.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, § 12.028; Oct. 29, 1992, No. 84, § 57; Apr. 13, 1995, No. 36, § 50; renumbered as § 11.028 on Jan. 10, 1999, No. 30, § 3; renumbered as § 11.029 on Jan. 10, 1999, No. 42, § 2; Nov. 22, 2009, No. 151, § 10.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 223 - Municipal Personnel (§§ 4551 — 4579) › § 4579 - Early retirement

The mayor, with the approval of the municipal legislature and the authorization of the Administration of the Retirement Systems of the Employees of the Government and the Judicature, may process the early retirement of municipal officials and employees.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, added as § 11.030 on Sept. 7, 2004, No. 258, § 32.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 224 - Drug Testing to Detect Controlled Substances in the Workplace (§§ 4581 — 4599) › § 4582 - Liaison officer; designation and duties

(a) Every mayor shall designate a qualified person who shall serve as liaison officer to help the employee and shall coordinate all matters related to the Prevention and Occupational Assistance Program established in this chapter.
Each municipality shall coordinate with the Mental Health and Addiction Services Administration, the advice and assistance that said official needs to implement and develop the program, according to the established standards.
The person designated as liaison officer is hereby authorized to extend his/her services, within the available resources, to attend to other situations that affect the physical and mental health of officials and employees, such as alcohol abuse.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, added as § 12.003 on Jan. 10, 1999, No. 30, § 4.
2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-ONE - Municipalities (§§ 1-4 — 6756) › Subtitle 6 - Autonomous Municipalities (§§ 4001 — 4990-4990j) › Chapter 224 - Drug Testing to Detect Controlled Substances in the Workplace (§§ 4581 — 4599) › § 4583 - Controlled substances detection tests as a requirement for employment

As part of a medical evaluation designed to determine the general health of the candidates for employment, every municipality shall require the presentation of a certified report of the results of a test for the detection of controlled substances, prior to their employment.
Said test shall be administered by any laboratory no later than twenty-four (24) hours from the time the municipality requires the candidate in question to present it, and it shall be paid for by the municipality that requests it.
Any candidate for employment who refuses to submit to the test, or should the test be positive, as certified by the laboratory in question, shall be sufficient ground to refuse to employ the person.
Each municipality shall establish the regulations needed to execute this provision.
History —Aug. 30, 1991, No. 81, added as § 12.004 on Jan. 10, 1999, No. 30, § 4.