2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THREE - Executive (§§ 1 — 9311) › Chapter 29 - Government Personnel (§§ 641 — 706) › § 702 - Assessments of associations or unions of employees, deductions

(a) The employees of the Executive Branch of the Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, including all its agencies, public corporations and instrumentalities, excepting the Commonwealth Elections Commission, who in the exercise of their constitutional rights organize themselves into a bona fide group of public servants for the purpose of fostering their social and economic advancement, the general welfare of all public employees and promoting and encouraging a liberal and progressive attitude towards public administration and enhancing the efficiency of the public services, as may be accredited by the Secretary of Labor and Human Resources, may authorize the head of the department, agency or public instrumentality where they work to deduct from their salary the necessary amounts for the fees and personal savings or loan payments that said employees are bound to pay as members of said group of public servants. Every head of a department, agency or public instrumentality subject to the provisions of this chapter shall include in the payroll, separately itemized, the amounts of the authorized deductions to be made from the salaries of the employees who authorize it in writing. The amount to be deducted shall be the amount certified by the Secretary of the respective group of public servants, provided it is not unreasonable, confiscatory of the salary or discriminatory, it being understood that it shall be the same for all employees in absolute terms or in terms of a specific percentage of the salary.
(b) The authorizations for the payment of the fees that the employees of the Executive Branch of the Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico make under this chapter may be revoked one year after their effective date and those for savings may be renewed at any time the public employee so determines. Provided, That, as long as the savings are not securing a personal loan, the employees may request that the total amount of their savings with the corresponding accrued interest be given to them.
The authorizations for salary deductions for the payment of a loan may not be revoked unless the employee has already paid in full the principal and interest of the debt incurred or the same has been cancelled or condoned.
(c) Each employee shall authorize the deduction of assessments for not more than one group of public servants at a time, for the purposes established in this section.
(d) The Secretary of the Treasury or the official charged with paying the salaries in the departments, agencies, public corporations and instrumentalities shall deliver to the officer designated by the corresponding group of public servants the amount of the deductions authorized by the employees pursuant to this section. For this purpose, the officer designated by the group of public servants shall furnish the pertinent bond as custodian of the funds of such group of public servants and the savings of its members.
History —July 19, 1960, No. 134, p. 388, §§ 1-4; July 9, 1985, No. 96, p. 311, §§ 1-3; July 14, 1998, No. 123, § 1; Sept. 2, 2000, No. 308, §§ 1, 2.