Issue link: https://read.uberflip.com/i/1514798
ManpowerGroup: Global QMR Q4 2023 | 10 Strategic Update on Americas North America Latin America • The United States Department of Labor announced a new rule that could impact countless businesses that use independent contractors. The new rule establishes a six-factor analysis to determine whether independent contractors are deemed to be "employees" of those businesses, and thus imposes obligations on those businesses relating to those workers including: maintaining detailed records of their compensation and hours worked; paying them regular and overtime wages; and addressing payroll withholdings and payments. Further, workers claiming employee status under this rule may claim entitlement to coverage under the businesses' group health insurance, 401(k), and other benefits programs. • A bill to cut the working day in Mexico by eight hours to 40 hours a week has been pushed back into early 2024 when Congress reconvenes. The constitutional overhaul has met resistance from business and the center-right opposition National Action Party, and President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. Presented last year, the bill passed one lower house committee in April, but business-led concerns led to the creation of forums to broaden discussion of its implications. Pledging to improve workers' rights, Lopez Obrador has ushered in the biggest increases in the minimum wage in decades, including rises of 20% for both 2024 and 2023. However, the gap between Mexico and the neighboring United States remains huge. • Brazil's Ministry of Labor issued an update to Brazilian Labor Law that regulates its "Equal Pay Law" and came into effect immediately. Companies with 100 or more employees are now required to publish biannual salary transparency reports. In cases of pay disparities, employers must create action plans, with detailed goals, deadlines, and training programs. It is estimated that women in the Brazilian workforce will not see equal pay until 2047. For Black Brazilians that date is pushed out to 2089. • A court in Argentina temporarily suspended President Javier Milei's proposed labor reforms. Milei introduced the Decree of Necessity and Urgency (DNU), an order made up of a series of deregulation measures aimed at rebuilding the country by eliminating several regulations "that have held back and prevented economic growth." The proposed labor reforms in the DNU include changes to labor lawsuits, an extension of trial periods in employment contracts from three to eight months, the right of workers to strike, and a reduction in pregnancy leave. However, Argentina's largest trade union claims the reforms strip away fundamental worker protections and are largely unconstitutional. The National Labor Chamber of Appeals sided with the union and temporarily halted the implementation of the labor laws included in the reform package. The suspension will remain in effect until Congress reviews the measures and issues a final ruling. ManpowerGroup: Global QMR Q3 2023 | 10