By: Rafael Mello and Leticia Cordeiro
After May 1st, we highlight what appears to be an effective evolution in our legal system and aims to implement mechanisms to prevent harassment of women in the workplace.
It is not yet known whether the initiative will bring about an effective improvement in this notoriously chronic problem, but the initiative itself is reason enough to give us a little more confidence that there is a way to overcome this unacceptable reality of moral and sexual harassment that particularly affects female workers.
Since the entry into force of Law 14,457/2022 on September 22, 2022, companies must promote the insertion and maintenance of women in the job market, through the “Emprega + Mulheres Program”, with the main objective of preserving motherhood in early childhood, qualification, promotion and prevention and combating sexual harassment and other forms of violence in the workplace.
To this end, among the numerous measures for implementing the Program, in article 23 of the aforementioned Law, companies with an Internal Accident Prevention Committee (CIPA) were given a period of 180 days to adapt and adopt measures to prevent harassment or any other form of violence in the workplace.
The new determination for adaptation and updates changed the name of the Commission according to MTP Ordinance No. 4,219/2022 to Internal Commission for Accident and Harassment Prevention – CIPA+A.
Thus, CIPA+A must promote the application of the determinations imposed in Law 14,457/2022 since March 22, 2023 through the inclusion of rules of conduct and respect for sexual harassment with broad dissemination in the workplace, the establishment of internal procedures in case of complaints with guaranteed anonymity and the annual implementation of training and guidance actions throughout the company on topics related to violence, harassment, equality and diversity in the workplace.
It is also important to note that receiving a report of violence in the workplace does not replace the need to adopt criminal proceedings if the reported conduct is classified under Brazilian criminal law.
Thus, the changes in the CIPA+A's attributions aim to strengthen its strategic role in preventing and combating sexual harassment and violence in the workplace to promote the “Emprega + Mulheres Program” and the full effectiveness of Law 14,457/2022.
Companies will have to adapt to this new reality and implement the measures determined by law. However, while the law requires the adoption of such protective measures, it is also true that the correct implementation and more careful treatment of this problem that plagues work environments should bring greater quality and harmony to the work environment, as well as prevent more acute problems that today often only come to light when the damage is already very extensive.