2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-NINE - Labor (§§ 1 — 3004) › PART I - Labor Provisions Generally (§§ 1 — 510k) › Chapter 19 - Employment of Women and Minors; Compulsory School Attendance (§§ 431 — 476d) › § 467 - Working mothers’ protection—Maternity leave

Pregnant working women shall be entitled to a rest period which shall include four (4) weeks before and four (4) weeks after childbirth. The working woman may opt to take only one (1) week of prenatal rest and extend up to seven (7) weeks the postnatal rest she is entitled to, provided she presents a medical certification to her employer showing that she is able to work up to one (1) week before childbirth. The physician shall take into consideration the type of work performed by the female worker. The rest period provided herein and all the rights or benefits provided by §§ 467—474 of this title, shall be applicable to every female worker who is at work or who is enjoying vacation or sick leave, as well as any other special leave or rest period authorized by law in which the employer-employee bond continues to be in effect. Provided, That every female worker who adopts a preschool-aged child, that is, a child who is five (5) years of age or less and is not registered in school pursuant to the legislation and legal procedures in force in Puerto Rico, shall be entitled to the same benefits under the maternity leave as a female worker has who gives birth to a child. In said case, the leave shall start to count as of the date in which the child joins the family unit. In order to claim said right, the female worker must notify the employer at least thirty (30) days in advance [of] her intention to adopt a child, plans for maternity leave and reinstatement to her job. Furthermore, she shall submit evidence to the employer of the adoption procedures issued by a competent organization.
The employer shall likewise be bound to pay the working mother during said rest period her full salary, wages, day wages or compensation that she has been receiving for her work. This payment shall be made at the time the employee begins to enjoy her maternity leave or maternity by adoption leave. Provided, That the average salary, wages, day wages or compensation that she has been receiving during the six (6) months prior to commencing her rest period shall be used as the basis to compute her full salary, wages, day wages or compensation; or, if it is not possible to apply said six-month period, the salary, wages, day wages or compensation the working woman was earning at the time she began to enjoy the leave or special rest period approved by law.
In the case of maternity by a birth which occurred before the weeks of prenatal rest to which the pregnant working woman is entitled have elapsed, or before she has begun said prenatal rest period, she may choose to extend the postnatal rest for a period of time equal to that which she failed to enjoy during the prenatal period, and it shall also be paid to her on a full salary basis; Provided, That the working mother may request to be reinstated to her employment after the first two (2) weeks of the postnatal rest period, if a medical certificate is presented to her employer certifying that she is able to work. In this case, the working woman shall be deemed to have waived the other weeks of postnatal rest to which she is entitled. When the probable date of childbirth is mistakenly estimated, and the woman has enjoyed four (4) weeks of prenatal rest without having given birth, she shall be entitled to have the prenatal leave extended on a full salary basis until the birth occurs, in which case the additional period for which the prenatal rest is extended shall be paid in the same manner and terms established for the payment of regular salaries, wages, day wages or compensations. If the working woman suffers any postnatal complication which prevents her from working after the four-week period, reckoning from the date of the childbirth, the employer shall be under the obligation to extend the rest period for a term which shall not exceed twelve (12) additional weeks, provided that before the expiration of said rest period, a medical certificate attesting to such facts is presented. In this case, the working woman shall not be entitled to receive additional compensation, but her position shall be reserved for her.
In the case of an adopting working mother, she may request to be reinstated to her work at any time after she has begun to enjoy her maternity leave. Provided, That in such case it shall be deemed that the adopting working mother waives any remaining term of the leave to which she is entitled.
History —Mar. 13, 1942, No. 3, p. 284, § 2; May 13, 1947, No. 398, p. 766, § 1; June 19, 1969, No. 39, p. 73, § 1; Aug. 5, 1975, No. 20, p. 653, § 1; May 4, 1982, No. 7, p. 12, § 1; July 31, 1991, No. 39, § 1; Mar. 10, 2000, No. 54, § 1; Oct. 28, 2000, No. 425, § 1.