Minister Luís Roberto Barroso, in a ruling rendered on 11/12/2021, lifted provisions from Ordinance 620/21 of the Ministry of Labor and Welfare preventing companies from requiring proof of vaccination when hiring employees or during the course of the employment agreement.
The Minister’s ruling, in a preliminary nature, was based on Argumentations of Non-Compliance with Fundamental Precepts (ADPFs) 898, 900, 901 and 904. With such ruling, employers are authorized to demand proof of vaccination from their employees.
In the ruling, Minister Luís Roberto Barroso highlighted the situation of people who have express medical contraindications regarding vaccines. In this specific case, the Minister considered that it is plausible to lift the requirement for vaccination, allowing periodic testing for these events.
Also according to the preliminary ruling, the dismissal for cause of someone refusing to provide proof of vaccination (or get vaccinated), must be adopted with proportionality, being a last action by employers. Finally, the Minister also lifted the part in the Ordinance that treated the requirement of a vaccination certificate as an act of discrimination.
Written by Daniel Rangel, Labor Lawyer at Drummond Advisors
