The Disciplinary Board of Labor Courts Magistrate Dora Maria da Costa signed on Monday (the 24th) recommendation to the presiding justices and magistrates of the Regional Labor Courts (TRTs) to guide the return to in-person judicial units of first and second instances of jurisdiction. The measure has taken into account the controlled epidemiological scenario and the significant reduction in cases of covid-19 infection and mortality.
In April of this year, by means of Ordinance 913/2022 of the Ministry of Health, the Federal Executive Branch declared the end of the state of health emergency due to coronavirus. Therefore, according to Recommendation 2/2022 of the The Disciplinary Board of Labor Courts, the justifications for maintaining exceptional measures to cope with the pandemic, such as remote work, are no more.
According to the recommendation, during the trial sessions of the Regional Labor Courts, the participation of the Judge in remote modality or by videoconference will only take place under extraordinary circumstances, previously justified and allowed by the Presiding Justice of the Court.
In the trial court, the recommendation is that judges refrain from holding online hearings, unless upon request of the parties or in exceptional cases.
In this scenario, oral arguments and hearings in person will be resumed; however, Labor Courts, by means of Internal Regulations, may establish criteria for this resumption of in-person activities.
It is important to clarify that, although the Superior Labor Court has determined the resumption of in-person activities, Law # 14,442/2022, recently sanctioned, was not repealed; so, until provision to the contrary, the home office or hybrid work regime can be maintained in the private sector, observing the legal parameters.
Despite the disclosure of this recommendation, so far the date of resumption of in-person activities has not been published yet.
