Publications

: Category: Tax

The 1st Panel of the Superior Court of Appeals (STJ) will define whether real estate payment transactions carried out by real estate investment funds (FII) can be taxed by the Real Estate Transfer Tax (ITBI) or are subject to tax immunity because they are a transfer of fiduciary ownership, pursuant to articles 156, II, of the Federal Constitution^[1] (CF/88) and 35, II, of the National Tax Code (CTN).^[2]

The unprecedented question before the STJ is being examined in Special Appeal 1.492.971/SP.

On September 20, 2022, the judgment of the case was suspended by a request for examination of the case record by Justice Regina Helena Costa, after the reporting judge, Justice Gurgel de Faria, voted to dismiss the taxpayers' appeal in order to recognize the levying of the ITBI.

According to the Justice, in these transactions, acquisition of the property in order to make up the FII's assets is done directly by the fund administrator and paid by issuing new quotas of the fund to the sellers. There is, therefore, an effective conveyance for consideration of ownership of the property, which attracts levying of the ITBI.

Like the Justice, the Court of Appeals of the State of São Paulo also did not recognize the taxpayers' right to immunity from the ITBI, under the argument that shareholders cease to be owners of the property when passing it on to the FII, and therefore there is a transfer of ownership. This position led to the appeal being filed with the STJ.

The dispute translates into a clash between the interpretation of municipal tax authorities and taxpayers, and consequent judicial developments, regarding the possibility of characterizing this transaction, so common in FIIs, as a conveyance of property for consideration, liable to be taxed by the ITBI, under the terms of article 35, II, and 110^[3] of the CTN and of article 156, II, CF/88.

Aside from the tax issues, it is important to understand the purpose behind the legal concept of fiduciary ownership, for a correct interpretation of the transactions carried out by the FII. This concept gives cause for, moreover, investment funds to not have legal personality, but be organized constituted as a communion of resources that make up a separate equity, which is inspired in the figure of the trust in Anglo-American law.

Pursuant to Law 8,668/93, FIIs are characterized by being a pool of resources raised through the securities distribution system for investment in real estate projects, which do not have legal personality. The question is pertinent, since the assets of FIIs are made up of assets and rights acquired by the administering institution, in a fiduciary capacity.

The real estate, as well as its earnings and income, are held under the fiduciary ownership of the administrating institution, independently and non-conveyable to its assets. When investors pay for FII quotas by conveying real estate assets, these are transferred, in fiduciary ownership, to the administering institution, constituting separate assets administered for the benefit of the quotaholders.

This is a fiduciary deal that ascribes to the asset the purpose of administration, which distinguishes it from the fiduciary deal in guarantee, since the quotaholders continue to be indirect owners of the property, in their capacity as FII quotaholders.

In other words, in the case under analysis by the STJ, the quotaholders merely allocated the properties they owned to a vehicle to enjoy professional management, receiving in return the quotas, which are nothing more than ideal fractions of the FII's assets.

The objective of this transaction, therefore, is not a conveyance for consideration of ownership of real estate to the fund manager, but to entrust investors' properties to a third party for the specific purpose of asset management.

It must also be considered that the taxable event of the ITBI only occurs with the effective transfer of the ownership of the real estate, which takes place through the competent registration in the real estate registry office, according to the STF's case law.

On the other hand, in the payment of FII quotas through the conveyance of real estate, one could argue that this transfer of real estate is not registered, since it should be registered with the real estate registry that the property is within the FII's assets.

As we saw above, the FII is a pool of resources without legal personality. The property is simply held under the fiduciary ownership of the fund manager for the purpose of managing it for the benefit of the very quotaholders who have paid in full for the property and in favor of whom the quotas that represent ideal fractions of such property have been issued.

In this sense, it is incumbent on the administrator to make the annotation of a series of restrictions provided for in article 7 of Law 8,668/93 ^[4] in the real estate registry, to ensure effectiveness before third parties that the real estate is part of a separate, independent, and non-conveyable equity, not to be confused with the equity itself.

These issues should be considered by the STJ in analyzing the case, especially since "tax law cannot alter the definition, content, and scope of institutes, concepts, and forms of private law," as provided for in article 110 of the CTN.

Although this is not a case subject to the system of repetitive appeals, the decision to be reached by the 1st Panel of the STJ will represent an important precedent for other cases dealing with the same issue and will ensure legal certainty, especially because the state courts have differed on the matter, sometimes upholding and sometimes rejecting the levy.

The issue has not yet been examined by the 2nd Panel of the STJ, which, like the 1st Panel, is part of the Court's 1st Section of Public Law. If the 1st and 2nd Panels adopt divergent positions, the parties may file motions to resolve a divergence for the 1st Section to give the final word on the issue, standardizing the STJ's case law.

^[1] “Article 156. It is incumbent on the Municipalities to institute taxes on:

[...]

II - transmission "inter vivos", on any account, by an act for consideration, of real estate, by nature or physical accession, and of real rights over real estate, except for collateral rights, as well as assignment of rights to their acquisition;

(...)” (Federal Constitution).

^[2] “Article 35. The tax, which falls under the jurisdiction of the states, on the conveyance of real estate and rights related thereto has as its taxable event:

(...)

II - the conveyance, for any reason, of real rights on real estate, except for collateral rights;

(...)" (National Tax Code).

^[3] “Article 110. The tax law cannot alter the definition, the content, and the reach of institutes, concepts, and forms of private law, used expressly or implicitly by the Federal Constitution, by the Constitutions of the States, or by the Organic Laws of the Federal District or of the Municipalities, to define or limit tax accrual.” (National Tax Code).

^[4] “Article 7. The assets and rights that are part of the assets of the Real Estate Investment Fund, in particular real estate held under the fiduciary ownership of the trustee institution, as well as revenue and income therefrom, are not mixed with the assets of the latter, subject, as for such assets and rights, to the following restrictions:

I - they are not part of the administrator's assets;

II - they are not directly or indirectly liable for any obligation of the administering institution;

III - they are not included in the list of assets and rights of the administrator, for the purposes of judicial or extrajudicial liquidation;

IV - they cannot be given as a guarantee for the administering institution's operating debt;

V - they are not subject to execution by any creditors of the administrator, however privileged they may be;

VI - no real encumbrance can be placed on the properties.

Paragraph 1. In the deed of acquisition, the administrating institution shall state the restrictions listed in subsections I to VI, and highlight that the asset acquired is within the Real Estate Investment Fund's assets.

Paragraph 2. The restrictions and the highlighting referred to in the previous paragraph shall be registered with the real estate registry.

Paragraph 3. The administering institution is dispensed from presenting the clearance certificate issued by the National Institute of Social Security, and the Clearance Certificate of Taxes and Contributions, administered by the Federal Revenue Service of Brazil, when disposing of real estate that is part of the Real Estate Investment Fund's assets." (Law 8,668/93).

: Category: Corporate

Clarissa Freitas, Marcos Costa, Amanda Siqueira Costa Vilela and Renata Marques de Moraes

Recognizing the importance of transparency in the disclosure of information to shareholders and to the market as one of the mechanisms for establishing trust between investors and the system, the regulation applicable to publicly-held companies pays particular attention to their duty to provide information to support shareholder and investor decisions.

One of the purposes of this disclosure obligation is to avoid the practice of insider trading by enabling means of obtaining this information not only to the company and its shareholders, but to the market as a whole.

Among the various instruments available for this dissemination, the relevant fact stands out. Article 157, §4, of Law 6,404/76 provides a general definition of relevant fact by determining that the company must disclose "any resolution of the general meeting or the company's management bodies, or relevant fact that occurred in its business, which may have a significant influence on the decision of market investors to sell or buy securities issued by the company".

In the same sense, the Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM) issued CVM Resolution 44/21 (which replaced the former CVM Instruction 358/02). Such rule established as relevant any decision of the controlling shareholder, resolution of the meeting or the management bodies, or any other act or fact related to the company's business that may influence the listing of the company's securities, the decision of investors to buy, sell or maintain such securities or the decision of investors to exercise rights related to the securities of which they are the holders.

In the context of a publicly held company, there are numerous hypotheses in which shareholders and investors may be impacted by the non-disclosure of the necessary and relevant information. Resolution 44/21 seeks precisely to diminish the free will of administrators to decide what is relevant and susceptible to disclosure.

In addition to the definition above, the resolution brings an example list of matters that can be considered relevant facts, such as the signing of control transfer agreements, corporate transactions in general, debt renegotiation, conclusion of contracts, among many others.

Of course, the listing of themes is not final. The analysis of the relevance of a given fact to the company will depend on the discretion and understanding of its management. The same fact may or may not be considered relevant for companies with different realities.

According to the understanding that CVM has expressed over the last few years, the general rule, in case of relevant fact, is that of wide disclosure, even if the information refers to the operation under negotiation, feasibility studies, initial negotiations or even the mere intention to conduct the business.

The material fact may, exceptionally, cease to be disclosed if, at the discretion of the controlling shareholders or directors, its disclosure puts at risk the legitimate interest of the company. The exception to the obligation of immediate disclosure, however, will cease to occur immediately in case of leakage of information or atypical fluctuation in the quotation, price or negotiated quantity of the securities issued by the company.

It will always be the responsibility of the Investor Relations Officer (DRI) to expedite, in a relevant and timely manner, the communication of relevant fact, and he may be personally held liable for any inaccuracy in the disclosure.

The relevant fact must be disclosed in the manner provided for in the Company's Material Act or Fact Disclosure Policy, on its official website, through CVM’s Empresas.NET system and in the news portal reported in the Registration Form.

In case of change in the company's communication vehicles, it will also be up to the DRI to change the disclosure policy, update the registration form and disclose the change before its effective implementation.

In addition to the obvious disclosure obligation, it will also be up to the DRI to monitor situations in the company's life, in contact with key people, to become aware of facts that may be relevant, monitor the price of securities to identify atypical fluctuations and supervise leaks of information.

In case of leakage or atypical oscillation, there should be immediate disclosure of the relevant fact, even if related to ongoing operations, feasibility studies or mere business intention.

In relation to accountability, it is necessary to highlight:

the joint and several nature of the responsibility between the DRI and the controlling shareholders, in case of inertia of the DRI, a situation in which directors and members of the boards of directors and tax, when aware of the possible inertia of the DRI, must provide themselves the disclosure; and
the personal accountability of the DRI in the event of non-compliance with the relevant disclosure policy. This gives the DRI coercive power to demand transparency and effectiveness in the reporting of information by other board members.

In addition to analyzing the content of the disclosure itself, it is important that the publication of the relevant fact is timely, so that the information is still useful to its recipients, without being disclosed late.

Adopting the understanding that relevance is in the potential to influence investors' decisions and not in their consummation, CVM has already considered atypical fluctuations in the price of securities as indications of the existence of relevant facts of necessary disclosure.

More recently, the CVM board, responsible for investigating irregularities committed by publicly-held companies in the disclosure of relevant facts, understood that the change in the company's pricing policy would be relevant, as it could mislead market participants.

According to CVM, companies should preserve consistency in disclosures – if the pricing policy was considered relevant and disclosed, any changes should also be disclosed in order to preserve the completeness of the information to the market.

In relation to litigation, the disclosure of the existence of legal proceedings involving the companies has already been understood as relevant by the CVM, even before the final judgment, given its potential impact on the negotiations of company’s securities.^[1]

Another topic much discussed by the CVM board concerns the disclosure of events considered relevant facts through other instruments, such as the Market Release.

The DRI must pay attention on the fact that, if a given event is in a material fact (i.e., it has the potential to influence the investors' decision to trade with the company's securities), it may not be disclosed in a format other than the relevant fact. On the other hand, if a given event does not fit as a relevant fact, but is important for decision making, it should become public by means of notice to the market or notice to shareholders, for example.

It is increasingly common to find CVM jurisprudence by imputing penalties to the DRI for disclosure through the incorrect instrument, which is why it is necessary to observe the proper use of the means of disclosure and avoid the repetition of incorrect practices.

Given the relevance of the theme to the daily life of companies and the effective supervisory power of CVM on the subject, special care is recommended in the performance of the DRI to ensure effective compliance with applicable legislation.

^[1] The disclosure of judicial, administrative and arbitration proceedings involving publicly held companies is also the subject of a specific item of the Reference Form, and the statement on corporate claims, pursuant to the recent CVM Resolution 80/22.

: Category: Banking, insurance and finance

Since September 16, those interested in obtaining registration as securities advisors must submit their applications through the Securities Advisory Registration System (REGCON) of the Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM).

Announced by CVM through the Circular Letter 7/2022/CVM/SIN, REGCON makes it possible to automatically grant the application for accreditation, already provided for in the CVM Resolution 19, of 25 February 2021.

The accreditation request is made by the link https://sistemas.cvm.gov.br. You must select the option "CVMWeb System" and then "Cadastral Update". After logging in using a GOV.BR with silver or gold level, simply select the option "Securities Advisor (Profile: Consultant)" from the menu on the left.

The documentation required for accreditation remains the one stipulated in CVM Resolution 19, which includes a copy of the Union Collection Guide (GRU) to prove the payment of the initial inspection fee provided for in Law 7,940/89.

After sending the documents in REGCON, automatic registration will be granted and the superintendence will review and validate the documents later. Accreditations performed in non-compliance with CVM Resolution 19 may be cancelled by the Institutional Investor Monitoring Management (Gain), as provided for in item III of article 10.

In addition to enabling the automatic granting of the accreditation application, the new system allows registered consultants to issue the certificate of regularity of registration and request the suspension and cancellation of registration.

In the CVM statement on REGCON, the superintende of institutional investor supervision (SIN), Daniel Maeda, said that "the system innovates by providing for the first modality of automatic registration, in practice, granted by cvm to service providers. The implementation of REGCON reinforces the role of the municipality as an institution always attentive to the proportionality of its performance in view of the different levels of risk offered by regulated activities."

For more information, cvm published on its website the Accreditation Guide and other information, with all the clarifications on the registration request.

: Category: Competition

The recent and unprecedented decision of the Administrative Council of Economic Defense (Cade) to hold three competitors in the telecommunications sector liable for an antitrust violation (concerted practice) due to the formation of a bidding consortium caused surprise and raised several doubts.

The formation of consortia is permitted in Brazil not only by the Public Procurement Law but also by the Antitrust Law – which provides that bidding consortia are not subject to subject to merger control. Consortia among competitors are also authorized in several public bidding notices. Against this background, why did Cade consider it illegal for competitors to form a consortium?

In summary, the agency pointed out that the formation of a bidding consortium between competitors can undermine the competitive nature of the tender when:

the market share jointly held by the consortium members is high (under the Antitrust Law, dominant position is presumed when the undertaking or group of undertakings controls 20% or more of the market, such threshold may vary depending on the characteristics of the market involved);
the members do not provide different services that are complementary for the purposes of participation in the tender;
there is no evidence that a member alone would not be able to carry out the contract individually; and
there is no evidence of efficiencies associated with the consortium (the discount in relation to the previous contract signed with the public body would not be sufficient to show that the formation of the consortium would have enabled the provision of services more efficiently and less costly).

Cade is analyzing at least one additional case on bidding consortium among competitors, launched in 2019, which investigates the formation of a consortium between companies in a tender for lease of port areas for the handling and storage of fuel.

The risk that consortia could reduce rivalry in public tenders is not a concern only of Cade. In the European Union, the draft revised Horizontal Guidelines published by the European Commission, which will enter into force in 2023, has brought guidance on the formation of consortia from a competition standpoint, which are closely related to Cade's recent decision.

According to the Horizontal Guidelines, there may be restrictions on competition if it cannot be ruled out that the parties to the bidding consortium could each compete individually in the tender (or if there are more parties than necessary in consortium). The analysis of the compatibility of consortia with competition law should be made on a case-by-case basis, based on elements such as competitive environment, rationality and efficiency gains. A consortium may be pro-competitive if joint participation allows the members to submit a more competitive tender than they could if they participate individually (in terms of price/quality/variety), and if the benefits to the public body offset the restrictions on competition arising from the consortium. The Horizontal Guidelines stress that efficiency gains should be passed on to consumers. Gains that benefit only the consortium members are considered insufficient.

In this context, the following cautions should be taken by companies that intend to form a consortium with competitors to participate public tenders:

assess the market share of the companies involved, as well as whether there are other viable competitors;

evaluate the reasons that would prevent the individual participation of the potential consortium members (such as insufficient financial and technical resources);

evaluate the reasons that allow companies to submit a more competitive proposal in consortium than individually (such as complementarity of performance – geographical or products/services – or integrated service that would be unfeasible individually);

assess the efficiency gains of the consortium (such as best price, quality and/or variety and whether they bring positive reflexes to consumers);

if the exchange of competitively sensitive information between the o the consortium members is required, it shall be limited to what is strictly necessary to participate in the tender and the members should adopt cautions such as the preparation of a clean team agreement, so that this information is not used in future dealings or other businesses of the companies; and

keep records of the assessment, including the clean team agreement and emails, opinions, memoranda and presentations demonstrating the justifications and pro-competitive motivation of the companies at the time of the consortium formation.

: Category: Infrastructure and energy

The Federal Constitution assigns to the Federal Government the competence for the exploitation of nuclear services and the state monopoly on the research, mining, enrichment and reprocessing, industrialization and trade of nuclear ores. The monopoly is attributed to Indústrias Nucleares do Brasil S.A. (INB), a public company established in 1988 and linked to the Ministry of Mines and Energy. INB operates on behalf of the Federal Government and, together with the National Commission of Nuclear Energy (CNEN), throughout the production chain of the nuclear fuel cycle.

The Provisional Measure 1.133/22, published last August 2022, seeks to make this monopoly more flexible, attributing more dynamism to the industry segment and attracting resources from the private sector, by allowing INB to enter into partnerships with private companies.

Until then, it was exclusively up to the Federal Government the control and exploration of nuclear ores (not only those considered strategic, but especially projects appraised as of high economic value). The private sector was restricted to fulfilling its obligation in communicating to the National Nuclear Safety Authority (ANSN), the National Mining Agency (ANM) and the INB the identification of nuclear ores whenever this happened.

The main change brought by said provisional measure is the possibility of INB joining the titleholder of the exploration permit for the use of mineral resources. Previously, the exploitation of nuclear ores was only possible through the transfer of the mineral rights to INB.

The provisional measure authorizes the negotiation of INB with the private sector to provide services to national, foreign, public and private entities, in partnerships to be compensated, among other forms, through:

payment in currency;
percentage of the amount collected in the commercialization of the mining product;
right to commercialize the associated ore; or
right to purchase the mining product with previously authorized exportation.

The amendment keeps the titleholder of the mineral right still dependent on INB’s decision, which will opt for obtaining the title of the mining right (encampação)or closing a partnership with the private titleholder. The measure, however, represents a significant advance for the nuclear ore mining sector, as it makes possible to combine private sector investment with INB's operations to execute projects that eventually would not be carried out due to budget constraints.

There was also the inclusion of some new attributions for ANM and ANSN. Regarding ANM, the powers provided by Law 13.575/17 were added, such as obligations related to regulation, standardization, authorization, control and supervision of the activities of research and mining of nuclear ores in the country (with exception of nuclear safety and radiological protection issues, which remain as an assignment of ANSN), in addition to the obligation to supervise the titleholders of mining concessions regarding the occurrence of nuclear elements.

In relation to ANSN, the provisional measure attributes to the agency the competence to regulate, standardize, license, authorize and supervise nuclear safety and radiological protection of nuclear ore mining activity, in addition to tailings deposits and waste storage sites. It is also up to ANSN to supervise the titleholders of mining concessions regarding the radiological protection of ore mining containing nuclear elements.

The Provisional Measure 1.133/22 must be converted into law up to 60 days after the date of its publication, a term extendable for an equal period. However, for this conversion, the provisional measure needs to be duly analyzed by the House of Representatives and the Federal Senate. It is therefore possible that the amendments introduced so far still be further modified or rejected.

: Category: Labor and employment

Law 14,457/22, sanctioned on September 22, 2022 as a conversion into law of Executive Order 1.116/21, creates the "Emprega + Mulheres" (Employ + Women) Program to place and maintain women in the labor market by implementing measures to support parenthood, training in strategic areas for professional advancement, and support for returning to work after the end of maternity leave.

The program also recognizes good practices in promoting women's employability and establishes measures to prevent and combat sexual harassment and other forms of violence in the workplace.

We will now analyze the main innovations brought about by the law.

Parenting support measures

Childcare assistance

By means of an individual agreement or collective bargaining agreement, the law authorizes implementation of a day-care reimbursement benefit for employees who have children up to 5 years and 11 months of age, payment of daycare or preschool, or reimbursement of expenses with other services of the same nature, as long as the expenses are proven.

Observing the requirements provided for by the law, the amounts paid as day-care reimbursement do not have salary nature. For this reason, they are not incorporated into the employees’ remuneration for any purpose, do not constitute a basis for social security contributions and labor charges (FGTS deposits), and do not constitute taxable income for the beneficiary.

An act of the Federal Executive Brach will determine the limits of values for granting the day-care reimbursement and the accepted methods of provision of services, including payments to individuals. Companies should keep an eye on how this topic evolves.

Teleworking

When allocating vacancies for activities that can be performed through remote work, employers must give priority to employees with children, stepchildren, or children under legal guardianship up to the age of 6, or with disabilities, with no age limit.

Flexible work and vacation arrangements

Observing the directive and management power of the company, and considering the express will of employees, it is possible to provide flexible working hours to employees who have children, stepchildren, or people under their guardianship up to 6 years old or with disabilities.

Such flexible hours can be implemented by means of a special working hours arrangement via a time bank (bank of hours), a part-time arrangement, flexible work start and end times, and advance of individual vacations, by means of an individual or collective agreement.

Measures to train women

The law provides that employers may suspend the employment contract for female employees interested in a professional training course or program offered by the employer, as long as the suspension is formalized in an individual or collective bargaining agreement.

The professional training course or program offered by the employer must prioritize areas that promote the professional advancement of employees or areas with low female participation, such as science, technology, development, and innovation.

During the suspension of the contract, the employee will be entitled to a professional qualification scholarship to be funded by the Workers Support Fund (FAT) and the employer may, at its sole discretion, grant a monthly compensatory allowance, not considered as salary for any purpose.

However, if the employee is terminated during the contract suspension period or within six months after returning to work, the employer will pay the employee, in addition to the mandatory severance, a fine to be established in a collective bargaining agreement. The fine will be at least 100% of the value of the last monthly remuneration prior to the suspension of the employment contract.

Measures to support the return to work after maternity leave

Suspension of the employment contract of employed parents

The law allows the father/companion, upon formal request and in agreement with the company, to suspend his employment contract after the end of his wife's or partner's maternity leave in order to provide care and establish a bond with the children, monitor the children's development, and support his wife's or partner's return to work, through participation in a remote professional training course or program, offered by the employer, with a maximum workload of 20 hours per week. The suspension must be formalized via individual or collective bargaining agreement.

However, if the employee is dismissed during the contract suspension period or within six months after returning to work, the employer will pay the employee, in addition to the mandatory severance, a fine to be established in a collective bargaining agreement. The fine will be at least 100% of the value of the last monthly remuneration prior to the suspension of the employment contract.

Changes in the Corporate Citizenship Program

The 60-day maternity leave extension offered by citizen companies can be shared between the requesting female employee and male employee, provided that both are employees of a legal entity that adheres to the Citizen Company Program and that the decision is adopted jointly, in the manner to be established in the regulation.

The company participating in the Citizen Company Program is also authorized to replace the extended maternity leave period with a 50% reduction in working hours for a period of 120 days, by means of an individual agreement and payment of the full salary.

Measures to prevent and combat sexual harassment and other forms of violence in the workplace

Companies obligated to create and maintain a Cipa must adopt the following measures, in addition to others they deem necessary, to prevent and combat sexual harassment and other forms of violence in the workplace:

Inclusion of rules of conduct regarding sexual harassment and other forms of violence in the company's internal rules, with wide dissemination of their content to male and female employees;

Establishing procedures for receiving and following up on complaints, investigating the facts, and, when applicable, applying administrative sanctions to those directly and indirectly responsible for acts of sexual harassment and violence, guaranteeing the anonymity of the person making the complaint, without prejudice to the applicable legal procedures;

Inclusion of topics related to preventing and fighting sexual harassment and other forms of violence in the Cipa's activities and practices; and

Provide, at least every 12 months, training, orientation, and awareness actions for employees from all hierarchical levels of the company on topics related to violence, harassment, equality, and diversity in the workplace, in accessible and appropriate formats that present maximum effectiveness of such actions.

The Cipa, previously called the Internal Commission for Accident Prevention, is now called the Internal Commission for Accident and Harassment Prevention.

These measures must be adopted within 180 days after September 22, 2022.

Companies must therefore update their internal practices and policies.

“Emprega + Mulher” Seal

The new law creates the Emprega + Mulher Seal, which seeks to recognize companies that stand out for organizing, maintaining, and providing day-care and pre-school facilities to meet the needs of their female and male employees, and good practices by employers who seek, among other objectives:

encourage the hiring, occupation of leadership positions, and professional advancement of women, especially in areas with low female participation, such as science, technology, development, and innovation;

share parenting responsibilities equally;

promote the culture of equality between women and men;

offer flexible work arrangements;

provide leave for women and men that allows them to care for and bond with their children;

effectively support female employees and those providing services in its establishment in the event of harassment, physical or psychological violence, or any violation of their rights in the workplace; and

implement programs to hire unemployed women in situations of domestic and family violence and to shelter and protect their employees in situations of domestic and family violence.

Companies that qualify to receive the Emprega + Mulher Seal must report annually on their compliance with the requirements introduced by the law.

Companies holding the Emprega + Mulher Seal may use it to publicize their brand, products, and services. It is forbidden to extend the use of the seal to the economic group or in association with other companies that do not hold the seal.

In view of these changes and innovations, companies must reassess their practices and policies to adapt them to the new obligations and study opportunities to introduce new benefits or practices in line with the Emprega + Mulheres Program guidelines.