Brazil’s Ministry of Labour and Employment, known as MTE, added 82 employers to its public Cadastro de Empregadores on October 6, a registry widely known in Brazil as the Lista Suja, or “Dirty List.”
The ministry said the update comprises 54 individuals and 28 legal entities. The entries relate to 553 workers in cases identified by labour inspectors between 2024 and 2026, across 21 of Brazil’s federative units.
The register concerns employers found, through the ministry’s administrative process, to have submitted workers to conditions analogous to slavery. Its publication is a transparency measure linked to labour inspections.
What happened
MTE said the 82 new names were included only after the relevant labour-inspection citations had been upheld in final, non-appealable administrative decisions.
Under the procedure described by the ministry, employers have due-process rights across two administrative instances before a name can be entered in the registry. The final decision validates the specific administrative citation that led to inclusion.
That process is distinct from a criminal case. An entry in the register is an administrative finding and should not be treated as evidence of a criminal charge or conviction.
No individual employer is named in the information provided for this report. As a result, no employer-specific response or denial was available for assessment.
Why it matters
The update makes public the outcome of administrative labour-inspection proceedings involving alleged conditions analogous to slavery, a term used in Brazil’s labour-enforcement framework. For readers and businesses, the distinction between the administrative process and criminal liability is central: the register records final administrative rulings, not criminal judgments.
By publishing the names, the ministry provides a public record of employers whose specific citations have passed the full administrative review process. The ministry says the registry is part of its effort to provide transparency around labour inspections.
By the numbers
- 82 employers added in the October 6 update.
- 54 of the new entries are natural persons, while 28 are legal entities.
- 553 workers are linked to the cases cited by MTE.
- 21 federative units are represented in the cases.
- 2024 to 2026 is the period in which the ministry says the cases were identified by labour inspection.
- 151 names were removed in the same update after completing the standard publication period.
The bigger picture
MTE says names generally remain public in the registry for two years. The removal of 151 names alongside the addition of 82 reflects that publication rule; removal after that period does not alter the nature of the prior administrative finding.
The October update was published by the ministry on October 6, with the official page updated on October 7. Independent reporting by Agência Brasil and UOL corroborated the date and the aggregate number of additions.
The available information verifies the overall update, rather than the facts of each underlying employer case or administrative file. It also does not establish whether any listed employer faces, or has faced, criminal proceedings.
What happens next
Under the ministry’s stated rules, the newly listed names will generally remain public for two years. The package of verified information does not provide details on further proceedings in any individual case, including any potential criminal investigation, charge, trial or judgment.