Answering after-hours email counts as overtime in Brazil

New law approved by president

Brazilian workers who are answering work emails on their smartphones after the end of their shifts can qualify for overtime under a new law, according to the Huffington Post.

The new legislation, approved by President Dilma Rousseff, states company emails to workers are the same as orders given directly to the employee.

This makes it possible for workers answering emails after hours to ask for overtime pay, according to labour lawyers speaking with Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper.

The issue has come up in the United States as well, said the Huffington Post. In May 2011, Chicago policeman Jeffrey Allen filed a class-action suit against the city, asking for unpaid overtime compensation.

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