Compliance Stuff

Takeaways In the wrongful discharge case of  Méndez Ruiz v. Techno Plastics Industries, Inc.,  the Court found an employee’s exhaustion of the 12-month Workers’ Compensation leave is not automatic grounds for a just cause termination. Puerto Rico does not recognize employment-at-will. Just cause analysis is necessary for terminations in Puerto Rico. Related link Méndez Ruiz v. Techno Plastics Industries, Inc. Article The Puerto Rico Supreme Court recently issued a decision reaffirming the importance of just cause for employment terminations in Puerto Rico.  Méndez Ruiz v. Techno Plastics Industries, Inc. ,  No. 2025 TSPR 68 (June 26, 2025). Puerto Rico does not recognize employment-at-will. The Court reiterated that companies must establish the reasons for termination are not arbitrary, capricious, or unrelated to legitimate business reasons . Under Law No. 80 of May 30, 1976, the Puerto Rico Unjust Dismissal statute, employers must have “just cause” for dismissal of...

At a Glance Connecticut Supreme Court holds that Workers’ Compensation Act does not require conversion of temporary benefits to permanent benefits after a claimant has reached maximum medical improvement. Administrative law judges can continue temporary disability benefits in lieu of awarding permanent disability benefits. Employer groups call upon the legislature to override the decision, which they claim could have a devastating impact on insurance rates.  The Connecticut Supreme Court recently ruled in  Gardner v. Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services 1  that workers’ compensation a dministrative law judges (ALJs) can award ongoing temporary partial disability (TPD) benefits to claimants who reach maximum medical improvement (MMI), rather than require conversion of TPD benefits to permanent partial disability (PPD) benefits. The ruling upends decades of decisions to the contrary and significantly shifts the interplay between temporary and permanent workers...