Overview
- The Supreme Court resumed consideration of two appeals on Thursday when justices took up Uber’s RE 1.446.336 and Rappi’s RCL 64.018, both challenging Labour Court rulings that found employment ties.
- The Procuradoria-Geral da República has filed an opinion opposing broad recognition of employment status, and several ministers have signaled interest in an intermediate approach that sets baseline protections rather than a blanket rule.
- Adopting employment status would force platforms to provide paid vacation, 13th salary, FGTS deposits and employer social contributions and could create large retroactive liabilities that some experts say would strain business models.
- Platforms argue they are technology intermediaries and say they support regulation that secures social protection without removing flexibility for drivers and couriers, while unions and labour bodies point to algorithmic controls as evidence of subordination.
- Labour courts are split on the issue and more than 10,000 cases and roughly 1.7 million platform workers stand to be affected, with the ILO’s new Convention No. 193 already informing the debate and increasing pressure for sector-specific rules.