July 13, 2017, marked the enactment of Brazil’s Law No. 13,467, a far-reaching reform of the country’s labor rules. The law amended the Consolidation of Labor Laws, known by its Portuguese acronym CLT, as well as rules involving temporary work, the FGTS employment fund and social-security contributions.
For international readers, the measure is important because it changed major elements of the legal framework governing formal employment in Latin America’s largest economy. It addressed the relationship between negotiated labor agreements and statutory rules, created a type of intermittent employment contract, added specific provisions for telework, and revised rules on working time, compensatory time arrangements and vacations.
The reform was enacted on July 13, published in Brazil’s Official Gazette on July 14, and took effect on November 11, 2017, following a 120-day transition period.
What happened
Law No. 13,467 revised the CLT, Brazil’s central labor code. Among its most consequential changes was the addition of Article 611-A, under which collective agreements may take precedence over legislation on specified subjects.
The law also introduced intermittent employment contracts, creating a framework for work performed on a non-continuous basis. It established a dedicated chapter in the CLT for telework, placing remote work within the labor code’s statutory structure.
Other changes covered working time, time-bank arrangements used to compensate hours worked, and the scheduling of vacations. The legislation additionally introduced provisions on expert fees and attorney fees in labor litigation.
Why it matters
The 2017 reform remains a material part of Brazil’s labor-law framework because it changed the rules applicable to employment relationships and labor disputes. In particular, the law formalized new contract arrangements and expanded the role of collective bargaining in areas defined by the legislation.
Its provisions on telework also gained continued relevance as remote-work rules became a distinct area of labor regulation. However, the 2017 text should not be treated as the complete current rulebook: Law No. 14,442, enacted in September 2022, later amended telework provisions that originated in the reform.
For companies, workers and labor representatives, the legacy of the reform is therefore not limited to its original text. Compliance depends on the CLT as subsequently amended, rather than on the 2017 law alone.
The bigger picture
Brazil’s labor system is organized around the CLT, so amendments to that code can affect a broad range of formal employment arrangements. The 2017 law revised not only individual employment rules but also the position of collective agreements in relation to legislation in specified areas.
The reform’s litigation provisions also demonstrate how legislation can be reshaped by constitutional review. The law introduced rules involving expert and attorney fees in labor cases. In October 2021, Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court held unconstitutional parts of the provisions as applied to people entitled to free legal aid.
That ruling is an important qualification to descriptions of the reform’s effects on labor litigation. While the 2017 law introduced cost and fee provisions, parts of the framework affecting legal-aid beneficiaries no longer apply following the court’s decision.
By the numbers
- 2017: The year Law No. 13,467 was enacted.
- July 13: The date the law was enacted.
- July 14: The date it was published in the Official Gazette.
- 120 days: The transition period before the law took effect.
- November 11, 2017: The effective date of the reform.
- 2021: The year the Supreme Federal Court invalidated parts of the legal-aid cost rules.
- 2022: The year Law No. 14,442 amended telework provisions.
What happens next
The reform is a historical event, but its legal consequences remain relevant. The current framework reflects both Law No. 13,467 and subsequent developments, including the Supreme Federal Court’s 2021 decision and the 2022 amendments to telework rules.
As a result, discussions of Brazil’s labor rules must distinguish between the original 2017 reform, the provisions still in force, and those later altered by legislation or constitutional review.