News

The Supreme Federal Court of Brazil has included on its docket cases discussing relevant provisions of Law No. 14,611/2023, known as the Equal Pay Law. The legislation establishes measures aimed at ensuring equal pay and remuneration criteria between women and men, in addition to imposing specific obligations on companies with 100 or more employees, such as the preparation and semiannual disclosure of pay transparency reports.

Among the matters under discussion are the manner in which the reports must be disclosed, the protection of personal and corporate data, the criteria used to identify pay disparities and the mandatory implementation of an action plan when inequalities are identified. The debate also addresses whether the legislation adequately distinguishes cases of unlawful pay discrimination from legitimate situations of differentiated compensation, such as length of service, productivity and technical qualifications.

The actions were filed by business associations and a political party, while labor unions defend the constitutionality of the legislation. The Office of the Attorney General of the Union has expressed support for maintaining the law, arguing that the reports should be disclosed with anonymized and aggregated information.

The decision to be rendered by the Supreme Federal Court of Brazil may provide greater legal certainty regarding the scope of the legal obligations, the limits of data disclosure and the parameters for the potential adoption of corrective measures. Until the Court issues a final ruling, heightened attention is recommended regarding the consistency of the information provided, the documentation of remuneration criteria and the internal governance of job classification, salary and compensation policy processes.