Puerto Rico employers have until Nov. 30 to request Christmas bonus payment exemption
Puerto Rico’s private-sector employers have until Nov. 30 to file a Christmas bonus payment exemption request for 2021, Labor Secretary Carlos J. Rivera-Santiago announced.
So far, the agency has received 30 requests for exemption from payment of the Christmas Bonus, of which 21 were accepted, six were accepted at 15%, one was denied and two are in the evaluation process, he said.
Act 148 of June 30, 1969, known as the “Private Sector Bonus Act,” establishes that the Christmas bonus must be paid to employees between Nov. 15 and Dec. 15 of the current year. Every employer is obligated to comply with the payment, except for the allowances covered by law.
“It’s important that employers that are prevented from paying the Christmas bonus for this year 2021, be it due to economic losses, insufficient earnings, among other unexpected events in the context of the pandemic, comply with the law and submit an application to the [Labor Department] for an exemption so that it can be evaluated and considered on its merits in the established time,” Rivera-Santiago said.
The government official said the business or employer that submits a Christmas bonus payment exemption request must also present a revised and/or audited profit and loss statement that is signed and sealed in its original format by an authorized public accountant.
