Informal Caregivers In Puerto Rico Do Not Need To Satisfy Threshold Requirements For Requesting Work Schedule Changes

• Law Firm: Littler Mendelson
• Subject Matter: Employment and HR, Employee Benefits & Compensation, Employee Rights/ Labour Relations
• Author: Ms Erika Berríos - Berríos and Daniel Limés Rodríguez
• Published date: 21 August 2023

Pursuant to the recently enacted Act No. 82 of August 8, 2023, employers in Puerto Rico must consider an informal caregiver's request for a work-schedule change without meeting some of the threshold requirements required by law. Act No. 82, Puerto Rico's Informal Caregiver Public Policy Act (ICPPA), purports to address the growing number of adults in need of care. To achieve this aim, the ICPPA establishes a public policy favoring informal caregivers and sets forth a bill of rights for the group.

The ICPPA defines an informal caregiver as a natural person who assists and supports a person in one or more of the essential activities of daily life without receiving remuneration. Notably, this definition does not apply to parents or legal guardians taking care of minors whose necessities coincide with those normally associated with their developmental stage.

Having defined an informal caregiver and the essential activities of daily life, the ICPPA delegates enforcement to Puerto Rico's Department of Family, which is tasked with enacting the corresponding regulations. More specifically, the Department of Family is tasked with creating, maintaining, and certifying information from the Informal Caregiver Registry. The Department of Family will register an informal caregiver who applies and qualifies for said designation, and will certify their membership, among other matters.

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