Law 14.611/2023, sanctioned in July, amended the Brazilian Consolidation of Labor Laws and made it compulsory for women and men to have equal pay and compensation criteria for work of equal value or same position. The amendments deepen the changes brought in by Law 13.467/2017.

The Law establishes that the payment of salary differences due to an employee discriminated against on the grounds of sex, race, ethnicity, origin or age does not exclude their right to sue for moral damages, depending on the case. If the employer does not pay the same compensation to men and women who perform the same job, it must pay a fine of 10 times the new salary due to the discriminated employee, which may be doubled in the event of a repeat offense. In addition to the changes mentioned above, companies must pay attention to other rules laid down in the Law:

1. Companies with 100 or more employees must publish reports on salary transparency and compensation criteria every 6 months, in compliance with the provisions of the Brazilian General Data Protection Act:

• the reports must contain information that allows for an objective comparison between compensation and the proportion of women and men occupying executive director, manager and senior management positions, followed by statistical data on other possible inequalities arising from race, ethnicity, nationality and age;
• if unequal pay or remuneration criteria are found, companies must present and implement an action plan, with targets and deadlines, to mitigate the inequality;
• if companies do not publish the reports, the Law establishes an administrative fine of up to 3% of the employer’s payroll, limited to 100 minimum wages.

2. All companies must adopt the measures set out in the Law, including:

• the promotion and implementation of diversity and inclusion programs in the workplace, with training for managers, leaders and employees on the subject;
• encouraging the training and education of women to enter, remain and rise in the job market on equal terms with men.

The justification for the law initiative was to “achieve equal rights in the world of work, preparing the country to make increasingly clear commitments to social development and economic growth, to increasing equality between women and men and to fighting poverty, racism, oppression of women, as well as all forms of social discrimination that are reflected in historical inequalities”.

The issues of equality between women and men and the protection of women have been increasingly debated in the country. In 2021, for example, Law 14.192/2021 was sanctioned, establishing rules to prevent, repress and fight political gender violence.

These legal measures illustrate the relevance of celebrating International Women’s Equality Day on August 26, which has been celebrated since 1973, with reference to the achievement of women’s suffrage in the United States through the country’s 19th constitutional amendment in 1920.

By André Martins and Leonardo Baroni.

Nasser Advogados celebrates the date and, like every other day, renews its commitment to confronting discrimination and inequality.