Overtime, Break Intervals, and Hazard Pay Dominate TST Cases in 2024
The Tribunal Superior do Trabalho (TST) has released a report detailing the most frequently litigated issues in 2024, revealing that overtime, break intervals, and hazardous duty pay were the leading topics in labor disputes. In total, the court reviewed over 513,000 cases throughout the year, with 70,508 specifically addressing overtime pay, marking a 19.7% increase from the previous year when 58,900 cases were recorded.
Among the issues surrounding overtime, key discussions included the application of divisors, adjustments or reductions in pay, calculation bases, and the implications of minute discrepancies on other salary components.
In second place, break intervals during work hours accounted for 48,283 cases, reflecting a 20% rise compared to 2023. According to the Consolidation of Labor Laws (CLT), employees working up to six hours daily are entitled to a 15-minute break. For those working longer hours, the minimum break is one hour, extending up to two hours.
The third most prominent issue was hazardous duty pay, with 40,392 cases adjudicated. This category saw a significant surge, with an increase of 36,785 cases from the 3,387 adjudicated the previous year. Hazardous duty pay is an additional salary component granted to workers in environments detrimental to health, including exposure to harmful chemicals, biological agents, or excessive physical conditions. The court examined various circumstances where this pay is applicable, such as waste collection, restroom cleaning, and sun exposure, as well as calculation methods and potential accumulation with other benefits.
Additionally, attorney fees were the fourth most common topic, with 39,857 cases reviewed, down from 51,241 in 2023. Following this, disputes regarding the denial of judicial services ranked fifth, with 39,096 cases. This issue involves claims where one party argues that the court's decision failed to address a crucial point necessary for resolving the case, which represented a significant decrease of over 31% from the previous year.
This analysis underscores the ongoing challenges and complexities within labor law, highlighting the need for continued attention to worker rights and employer obligations in Brazil.
