STF Rules School Recess Counts Toward Teachers’ Workday

In a decision on ADPF 1058, the Supreme Federal Court held that school recess is generally part of private-school teachers’ working hours, with exceptions only when exclusive personal use is proven. A majority followed relator Gilmar Mendes’s position, with Flávio Dino, Cristiano Zanin, André Mendonça, Nunes Marques, Dias Toffoli and Cármen Lúcia joining him, while Edson Fachin dissented. The ruling rejects an automatic inclusion without exceptions and replaces it with a case-by-case evidentiary standard that allows contrary proof in labor court. The decision lifts the nationwide suspension of related labor cases imposed in 2024, and pending claims will now proceed under the new standard. The case was brought by ABRAFI, which challenged the TST’s 2019 understanding; the court affirmed recess as work time as a rule but dispensed with an absolute presumption.