New Law Prohibiting Harassment, Racism And Sexism In The Workplace Mandates Full Compliance By May 16, 2018

On February 14, 2018, Law 7, which prohibits sexual harassment, mobbing (bullying), racism and discriminatory practices in all environments, including workplace and academia, took effect. Law 7 also establishes liability and penalties for any acts of violence against a person's honor, dignity, or physical or psychological integrity, and implements public policies aimed to prevent such conduct. Moreover, the law protects workers' human rights, regardless of gender or age, and their rights to dignity and respect and to work under equitable conditions. Employers must be in full compliance under the new law by May 16, 2018.

Law 7 def‌ines sexual harassment and mobbing as any systematic, continuous, or persistent action or omission through which a person suggests, invites, asks, pursues, limits, or restricts the exercise of another person's rights, impairs their rights, insults or addresses them in a disrespectful manner, or humiliates them in order to obtain sexual favors or to affect the person's dignity. Within the context of the workplace, sexual or moral harassment occurs in situations involving labor exploitation or when an employer denies an individual equal employment opportunities, fails to apply the same selection criteria for all candidates, fails to honor the worker's permanent employment status or general employment conditions, or unfairly discredits the work performed.

Racism is def‌ined as the idea that a particular race is superior to another, and is exemplif‌ied through actions such as requiring a prospective candidate to have a "good appearance" to qualify for a specif‌ic job position. Sexism is def‌ined as any attitude or action that undervalues, excludes, over-represents, or creates stereotypes because of the person's gender.

Law 7 sets forth a new obligation for employers to implement an appropriate and effective in-house procedure to process and resolve complaints of this nature. The procedure may be developed and implemented through the internal work regulation approved by Ministry of Labor, collective bargaining agreements or internal policies.

Additionally, employers must implement an investigation process for any complaints of conduct covered under this law. The investigation process must be effective, conf‌idential, and...