Special law for the regulation and installation of nurseries for sons and daughters of workers.

The Legislative Assembly approved in a plenary session on May 31, 2018, the “Special Law for the regulation and installation of nurseries for sons and daughters of workers”, which was published in the Official Gazette No. 112, volume No. 419. dated June 19, 2018.

The aforementioned law comes into force in June 2020, being applicable to workers in the public sector as well as the private sector.

This law was born when the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice declared “unconstitutionality by omission” by the Legislative Assembly, for not having issued the regulations that establish the aspects concerning the constitutional mandate established in article 42, paragraph 2, Therefore, it imposed a period of 6 months that expired on May 31, 2018, to issue the regulations that regulate everything related to the obligation of employers to install and maintain nurseries and places of custody for the children of workers. .

Art. 42.- Working women will have the right to paid rest before and after childbirth, and to retain employment.

The laws will regulate the obligation of employers to install and maintain nurseries and places of custody for workers' children.

The Law contains 15 articles and regulates the right of workers to nurseries and places of custody for their sons and daughters, from the end of the Postnatal period (currently 4 months) until the age of 3 years, for the duration of the your father or mother's work day.

The most relevant points are the following:

• This law recognizes the right of workers to enjoy the provision of nurseries and places of custody for their children.
• Nurseries or places of custody are defined as an establishment or physical space within the company or outside it, in which the worker can feed his or her children from 4 months to 3 years of age (without differentiating whether There are children who require special care), while leaving them under the supervision and care of a person trained for this purpose, during the work day (therefore it would include day or night work, overtime, etc.).
• The scope of application of the law includes the public sector, autonomous and municipal official institutions and private companies.
• An employer will be obliged to comply with this benefit when it has 100 or more workers. However, if the worker does not want to use these care places, he is free to not do so and the employer will not be obliged to compensate him for the benefit.
• The nursery does not necessarily have to be within the company, since according to the Law it may be within the workplace or in a different place, “within the same geographical area.”
• The employer has the power to define the method or methods by which the law will be complied with, and the worker must comply with the method implemented by the employer. The modalities of compliance with the law are:

1. Install and maintain daycare centers and custody places in a place attached and independent of the workplace within the same geographical area, in which case the costs of hiring trained personnel and enabling the center will be borne by the employer.
2. Through the installation and maintenance of a common nursery and custody center, which is paid for by several companies or work establishments.
3. Through the payment of daycare centers and custody places that provide such services independently of the company or work establishment in a professional and regular manner decided by the employer.

The costs that these centers incur exclusively for the care and supervision of minors will be paid directly by the employer to the daycare centers and place of custody that provides the service.

• The nurseries or places of custody must meet basic conditions in terms of space, health, control and equipment, but these "may vary depending on the size and number of boys and girls they house", in addition they must adopt measures to guarantee care in "optimal conditions". However, this law does not establish what these conditions are.
• Employees may use the benefit, as long as they meet the requirements of the law and the admission of establishment of nurseries or places of custody.
• Companies that do not comply with the provisions of the law may be subject to a fine from the Ministry of Labor and Social Security that would range between five and eight minimum wages in the commercial sector depending on the economic capacity of the employer. However, if the delay in installation is not attributable to the employer, the fine is not applicable.
• The construction and equipment costs of installing the nursery in the company or of installing a joint room for several companies will be deductible from income tax.
• The President of the Republic has not yet decreed the Regulations of the Law, which must provide guidelines for the application of the law in relation to requirements, permits, etc.

For more information and legal assistance on the deadlines, modalities and conditions of compliance, please contact Beatriz Merino, Labor Unit Coordinator at (503) 2505-5555 or email bmerino@romeropineda.com