Brazil Labor Prosecutor Warns Against Dismissing Workers’ Party Supporters

Brazilian regional labor prosecutor Luciana Marques Coutinho has warned that encouraging employers to dismiss Workers’ Party supporters can constitute electoral harassment and bring labor-law and criminal consequences. Her comments followed a social-media post from Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, that urged such dismissals and suggested ways to avoid their being classified as discriminatory. “This is very serious labor misconduct,” Coutinho said. She said the Labor Prosecutor’s Office, known as MPT, had received more than 400 complaints nationally in the two days after the presidential runoff. Reports included workers allegedly dismissed for their political preferences and employers intending to examine employees’ social-media posts. These were reported allegations, rather than findings against identified employers. Coutinho said both those encouraging the practices and companies carrying them out could face responsibility. She also said the reach of online posts could affect assessments of collective social damage. MPT said it would act to protect affected workers. Screenshots, audio recordings, employer documents and witness accounts were among the types of evidence Coutinho identified. In a separate release published on October 26, MPT’s Minas Gerais office said it had recorded 1,939 complaints nationally and 212 in the state by October 25. It said the state office had issued 118 recommendations to employers during the election period and sought judicial intervention in seven serious cases. Those earlier totals preceded the newly reported post-runoff complaints. The office said the end of voting did not end its concern about retaliation against workers for their electoral choices.