Overview
- The Supreme Federal Court, which decided on Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026, ruled that all mothers are entitled to 120 days of paid maternity leave with an optional 60-day extension.
- The ruling covers workers under the Consolidação das Leis do Trabalho (CLT) and statutory federal public servants, prohibiting different leave lengths based on employment regime.
- The Court set the start of the leave to the latest of these events: ninth month of pregnancy, the birth, hospital discharge of mother or newborn, the adoption, or obtaining custody for adoption.
- The decision applies immediately to new leave requests and to maternity leaves already in progress but does not reopen cases that are already closed, and it rejected the PGR’s request to allow parental leave sharing.
- The ruling bundles earlier fragmented STF precedents into a binding national standard, which will force public agencies and employers to update rules and payrolls and could prompt follow-up action by lawmakers or administrations to adjust implementing regulations.