Puerto Rico Recognizes Economic Violence as Form of Domestic Abuse, Impacting Workplace Policy

In July, a new amendment to Puerto Rico’s Act 54 was published recognizing economic violence as a form of domestic abuse and establishing grounds to grant protection orders related to financial and labor situations. Employers in the region are encouraged to review their mandatory domestic violence policies and training in light of the changes.

The amendment’s primary changes include:

• The new law defines economic violence as a conduct aimed at undermining a person’s present or future financial capacity, economic stability, or secure housing.
  
  
• Economic violence may be perpetrated through various means, including threats, coercion, fraud, restriction or denial of access or use of accounts, assets, financial information, government assistance, or hiding relevant information to pay for housing, among other conduct. It may also include interference with a person's employment or business.
  
  
• It also adds “economic violence” to the definition of domestic abuse, which does not require proof of a pattern of conduct to be committed.
  
  
• Particularly for employers, the new law specifically allows for the issuance of protection orders to require a person to abstain from bothering, harassing, persecuting, intimidating, menacing, or interfering in any way with the employment activities of the petitioner, including actions aimed at damaging the petitioner’s professional reputation or stability.

Additionally, the law firm DLA Piper suggests employers consider existing laws such as Act No. 217 where employers must create and enforce a policy for addressing domestic violence in the workplace. Act 54 authorizes employers to request a protection order on behalf of an employee in relation to domestic abuse occurring in the workplace; and antidiscrimination laws provide that being a victim of domestic violence or being perceived as such is a protected category.