538 private-sector companies in P.R. will not pay Christmas bonus
The Department of Labor and Human Resources confirmed that 538 private-sector employers were exempted from paying the Christmas bonus for the year 2018.
The list of companies that will not pay the bonus as established by law included private schools, restaurants and professional practices.
Last year, the agency’s Labor Standards Bureau’s Christmas Bonus Division exonerated 1,087 employers, who applied for the exemption in the wake of Hurricane María, which crippled the island’s commercial sector for weeks and months in some cases.
This year’s list reflects a decrease of 549 companies, which applied for the exemption before the Nov. 30 deadline, as required by Act 148 of 1969.
The causes for exemption are having suffered economic losses or not generating enough profit during the period from Oct. 1, 2017 and Sept. 30, 2018.
As a prerequisite to qualify for the exemption, each employer must submit a profit and loss statement, reviewed or audited, and signed and stamped in original by a Certified Public Accountant.
Employers not exonerated will have to pay the full bonus to their employees on or before Dec. 15, 2018. Last week, the government paid the Christmas bonus to public employees, as have municipalities throughout the island.
Check out the full list of exempted employers HERE.
