3.3-Desdobramentos jurídicos e meios de prevenção-Camila Peres

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Hello, my name is Camila Peres, I am a

Federal Prosecutor, and in this class we will

address the legal consequences of

workplace harassment and the rights of victims.

If you are the victim, we will give

practical tips on how to

proceed, and most importantly,

we will present measures to prevent workplace

harassment. We want everyone to know

how to prevent and combat workplace harassment.

We will

then discuss the legal implications of

workplace harassment. To begin, you need to know

that there are four possible spheres of

liability: labor,

administrative, civil, and criminal. As

already seen in this course, workplace harassment is

a form of psychological violence.

Legal protection against this type of

abusive practice stems from the principle of the

dignity of the human person, the

social value of work, and the

constitutional prohibition of all forms of

discrimination. The Federal Constitution, in

its first article, states that

the dignity of the human person is a fundamental principle of the Federative Republic of Brazil,

meaning

that this value should guide

all relationships within our country.

As we have seen, repeated and lasting actions

interfere with professional life,

compromise identity, dignity, and

affective and social relationships, generating

various damages both for the victims

and for the institution.

Therefore, it is reprehensible conduct incompatible

with the constitution and with various laws

that deal with the dignity of the human person,

discrimination, and the social value of

work. It is also incompatible with the

practice of law, according to the

recent normative provision added

to the Statute of Lawyers. We will now

discuss the ways in which the

harasser can be held

liable when the harassment occurs

in the workplace and the harasser and

the harassed person are united by an employment

relationship.

Labor liability will be possible

if the harasser is the victim's employer.

The worker may consider their

employment contract

indirectly terminated and claim

compensation for moral

and material damages suffered in labor court. This compensation is

based on Article 223c combined with

Article 223f of the CLT (Consolidation of Labor Laws). We suggest

reading about it. Another situation is when the

employee is the one who commits moral harassment

against their employer, supervisor, or

any other person, especially when

at work. In these cases, the

employer may dismiss the employee

for just cause based on Article

482 of the CLT. A clear example is the situation...

In a scenario where an employee is being morally harassed by a

supervisor, the supervisor begins to discredit them

in front of other employees,

using derogatory language, spreading

rumors and humiliating gossip to

undermine their supervisor within the

team. To make this even clearer, I present

here some examples of situations where

harassment could be grounds for both

indirect and just cause termination.

Article 483 of the CLT (Brazilian Labor Code) states that an

employee may consider the

contract terminated and claim the appropriate compensation

when services are demanded

that exceed their strength, are prohibited by law, are

contrary to good morals, or are unrelated

to the contract; when the employee is treated with excessive rigor by the

employer or their superiors; or

when the employer

or their representatives commit an

act that is harmful to the employee's honor and

good reputation. On the other hand, Article 482 of the CLT

lists the grounds for dismissal for

just cause, expressly stating that it

considers just cause when the employee

commits acts of misconduct

or improper behavior, or acts of depravity

or other depravity.

Insubordination is an act that harms the honor or

good reputation of

any person while on duty, or physical offenses

committed against the employer and

hierarchical superiors, except in cases of

legitimate self-defense or defense of

others. Regarding

administrative responsibility,

administrative liability occurs

when the harasser is a

public servant subject to the statutory legal regime.

The public servant statute

states that it is the duty of the servant to

maintain conduct compatible with

administrative morality, and

expressly prohibits expressions of disdain

within the public institution,

coercing subordinates to join an

association, union, or political party,

using their position for personal gain,

or engaging in any

scandalous conduct within the workplace.

Obviously, the conduct of moral harassment is considered an act that affects

the public servant. After due

administrative process,

administrative liability is imposed.

The penalty may range from a

warning to suspension or dismissal.

In turn, the victim may seek

judicial redress for moral and

material damages suffered. Furthermore, the

public administration... The government may be held liable

for damages caused by its agents to

third parties in their capacity as public servants,

as provided for in the Federal Constitution. This is

called the objective liability of the

administration, meaning it is independent

of intent or negligence. If harassment within the

administration is proven, the victim can sue the

State instead of the employer to seek the

compensation they deem appropriate.

However, the administration may file a claim

against the harasser to

obtain reimbursement for the amount

paid as

civil damages. The jurisprudence expressing the

understanding of the courts is settled

regarding the objective liability of the

administration and the right of recourse.

Let's look at two

representative rulings on

objective liability: Having proven the occurrence of

collective moral harassment in a

public office, the Union's liability is

objective, given the poor selection of

members of the administrative leadership and

the omission in fulfilling the duty to

curb the practice of improper and

harmful acts to the health of public servants by

agents linked to it in the exercise of

public function. Regarding the right of

recourse, objective liability:

Right of recourse for moral damages once

it is proven that the public servant...

committed an unlawful act that resulted in the

state agent having to pay

compensation. The right of recourse is applicable; it

is unacceptable to allow

public funds to bear the

financial loss caused solely by an act

perpetrated by a

public servant. We will now discuss

civil liability. Article 927 of the Civil Code

states that anyone who, through an unlawful act,

causes harm to another person will be obliged

to repair it, and defines an unlawful act as

any voluntary action or omission that

violates a right and causes harm to another, even if

exclusively moral. Thus, once

moral harassment is proven, the right

to civil reparation arises. Another

important aspect established by the Civil Code

is that the employer will also be

responsible for civil reparation

arising from acts of their employees,

servants, or agents committed in the

exercise of work or by reason thereof.

The company is liable for the

acts of its employees, and

even if the abusive acts of harassment

are committed during happy hour,

but are related to work, the

employer may be held

liable for moral harassment. Unlike

sexual harassment, it is not

expressly classified as a crime; however...

Depending on how it is

practiced, its severity, and its

consequences, it will be possible to classify the

conduct as several related crimes:

defamation (when the aggressor spreads

false information or attributes a

negative fact about the victim to harm

their reputation and image); slander (when the

aggressor unjustly accuses the victim of

something they did not commit, such as a crime or

serious offense); insult (when the aggressor

offends and outrages the victim's honor with

insults, vulgar language, or

profanities); threat (when the aggressor

intimidates and threatens the victim with

serious harm such as physical assault, extortion, or

death); coercion (when the aggressor pressures

and coerces the victim to do something

against their will using violence,

threats, or abuse of power). Harassment

may also be classified as

racial insult if it occurs

concurrently with a

discriminatory practice based on race, color,

ethnicity, or

nationality. See what Law 7716 of

1989, recently amended by Law

14.532 of 2023, says: racial insult is to insult

someone by offending their dignity or

decorum because of their race, color, ethnicity, or

national origin. It is

also important to highlight that since In 2019, the Brazilian Supreme Court (STF)

equated homophobia with the crime of

racial slurs. Regarding

criminal liability, it is possible

that workplace harassment could fall under

some of the crimes against the

organization of work.

Article 197 of the Penal Code states that it is an attack

against the freedom of work to

coerce someone, through violence or

serious threat, to exercise or not exercise an

art, trade, profession, or industry, or to

work or not work during a certain

period or on certain days.

Article 199 classifies as an attack against

the freedom of association coercing

someone, through violence or serious

threat, to participate or not

participate in a particular union or

professional association. Article 136 of the Penal Code

classifies as mistreatment

endangering the life or health of a

person under one's authority by subjecting them to

excessive or inappropriate work, or by

abusing the means of correction or

discipline. First, voice your

discomfort. If possible, if you feel safe,

inform the person that the conduct is

inappropriate and will not be tolerated. Keep

written records, noting in detail

all situations of harassment suffered,

including date, time, and location, and list the names of those

who witnessed it. Gather evidence

of access to the site.

If there is relevant evidence such as

photos, videos, documents, messages, or

other forms of communication, collect and

save it. Seek a

support network; don't isolate yourself and don't blame yourself.

Anyone can be a target of harassment.

Talk to people you trust,

leaders who are not involved, and

also to those who witnessed the

event or have been through the same situation.

Report the situation to the responsible sector, the

harasser's superior, or the ombudsman. If you are

unsuccessful in reporting, seek out your

professional union, representative

class body, or association. Importantly,

anyone can report a situation of

moral harassment. Breaking the silence and

interrupting the cycle of violence is

everyone's commitment. The last point we will address

is the means of prevention and combating harassment.

There are several ways to prevent

harassment, but the main one is

information. Ensuring that everyone knows

what moral harassment is

and what attitudes are accepted and

not accepted in the workplace

contributes to reducing harassment.

There are also some practical measures

that can help prevent

harassment, such as developing and disseminating a

company or institution code of ethics

highlighting that harassment is a

practice. Intolerable and incompatible with

organizational principles, clearly define

tasks, functions, and

work goals; observe autonomy for

work organization after

providing the necessary information and resources

for

task completion; encourage good

workplace relationships with respect for the diversity of

professional profiles and

personal rhythms; conduct assessments of the

organizational climate and social relations;

ensure fair and respectful treatment for all;

observe sudden and

unjustified increases in absenteeism;

offer psychological support and guidance

to employees who consider themselves victims

of

harassment. Another important

prevention tool is training; conducting

lectures, courses, and training for

leaders and employees is a

valuable instrument for raising

awareness and changing

organizational culture; establishing channels

for receiving and

forwarding complaints are

essential measures to address harassment; the

person reporting should receive

humane and confidential treatment; the

investigation of the complaint should be swift. It is

worth remembering that not only the victim, but

anyone who witnesses acts that

may constitute moral harassment can

file a complaint. Another very

relevant point is to promote cultural change

through a policy to

address and combat harassment that

establishes principles. and

responsibilities, procedures,

prevention mechanisms, welcoming the

complainant, handling and analyzing

complaints. Finally, there is no way to

combat it without repressing it; the investigation of

responsibility is an important and

necessary measure for confronting it. We have

thus reached the end of this module.

We hope that you have learned a

little more about workplace harassment, that you

have understood the various

legal ramifications, how to act if

you are a victim of this abusive conduct,

and most importantly, that you know how to

prevent and combat harassment in your

work environment.

Thank you very much. [Music]