Título Octavo. Prescripciones, sanciones y responsabilidades

Limitation period is a means of being released from an obligation imposed by this Code or resulting from the application thereof, through the lapse of certain time and under the conditions determined by this chapter.

The right to limitation period is unwaivable, but the limitation period already completed may be waived, whether expressly, orally or in writing, or tacitly by undoubted facts.

The rights of employers to justifiably dismiss workers or to discipline their faults prescribe in twenty working days, which begin to run from the time cause was given for termination of the contract, or, as applicable, from the time the facts giving rise to the disciplinary correction became known.

Any invocation the employer may make of the written warning referred to in subsection h) of Article 77 prescribes within a term of one year.

The rights of workers to claim against their employer in cases of dismissal or against the disciplinary corrections applied to them prescribe within the time limit of thirty working days counted from the termination of the contract or from when said corrections were imposed on them, respectively.

The rights of the workers to effectively terminate their employment contract with just cause prescribe within the term of twenty working days, counted from the moment when the employer gave cause for the separation or indirect dismissal.

The rights of employers to make claims against workers who unjustifiably withdraw from their post prescribe within a period of thirty working days, counted from the moment of separation.

Except for special provision to the contrary, all rights deriving directly from employment contracts, from collective pacts on conditions of work, from agreements of general application or from the internal work rules, prescribe within the term of four months, counted from the date of termination of said contracts.

Unless otherwise provided, all rights arising directly from this Code, its regulations or the other Labor and Social Welfare laws shall prescribe in a term of two years. This time limit runs from the occurrence of the respective act or omission.

The limitation period does not run against minors under fourteen years of age and incapacitated persons, while the former or the latter do not have a legal representative. The latter is liable for the damage and losses caused to those represented by him by the running of the limitation period term.

The limitation period is interrupted:

a)By claim or action before a competent authority;

b)By the fact that the person in whose favor the limitation period runs expressly recognizes, orally or in writing, or tacitly by undoubted facts, the right of the person against whom the limitation period runs.

Payment or performance of the debtor's obligation, whether partial or made in any other form, is included among the means expressed in this subsection; and

c)By duly proven force majeure or fortuitous event.

Causes that interrupt the limitation period with respect to one of the solidary debtors also interrupt it with respect to the others.

The effect of interruption is to render ineffective for the limitation period all time elapsed before it occurs.

Labor and social welfare offenses are the violations or breaches by action or omission committed against the prohibitive or mandatory norms contained in the provisions of the Labor Code, its regulations, the Conventions of the International Labour Organization ratified by Guatemala, the pacts or collective agreements in force in the enterprise and other labor norms, which are punishable by fine.

If the employer or his representatives, the workers or the trade union organizations and their representatives refuse to cooperate with the performance of the inspection work to verify compliance with the norms mentioned in the preceding paragraph, the respective procedure shall be initiated to impose sanctions on the offender and to continue with the inspection proceedings.

All those that the labor judicial authorities impose on the parties, on the attorneys or advisors thereof, on the members of the Labor and Social Welfare Tribunals, on the workers in the service of the latter, and, in general, on persons who disobey their orders in connection with the processing of a trial or a conciliation are disciplinary corrections, even though they are punishable by fine.

In matters of labor and social welfare violations, the following rules shall be observed:

a)Within the limits indicated by the following article, the Departmental Delegate of the General Labor Inspectorate, who must have the status of an active licensed attorney, preferably specialized in labor and social welfare matters, shall determine the applicable administrative sanction taking into account the economic circumstances and means of subsistence of the sanctioned person, the background and personal conditions thereof, the harm caused, the exposure to danger, the number of workers affected and, in general, the other factors that may serve for the best adjustment of the administrative sanction. Recidivism requires the imposition of a fifty percent (50%) increase in the fine incurred. There is no recidivism if one year has elapsed between the date on which the imposed fine was made effective and the date of commission of the new violation.

b)The imposition of the sanction does not exempt the offender from compliance with their obligations vis-à-vis the parties to the individual or collective contracts and employment relationships, without prejudice to the right of the interested party to bring the corresponding judicial actions.

c)In the case of labor administrative-litigation procedure or judicial action by the General Labor Inspectorate, in addition to payment of the imposed fine, the offender is obligated to remedy the irregularity within the final time limit set by the judicial decision. A certified copy of the judicial decision shall be sent to the General Labor Inspectorate so that compliance therewith may be verified.

Inspection, prevention and verification actions shall be carried out within the time limit indicated in each specific case, without as a general rule being extendable beyond thirty (30) working days. In exceptional cases and on a single occasion, the Inspector General of Labor or the Deputy General Inspectors may authorize the extension of verification actions for up to fifteen (15) working days.

Employers, workers and their organizations may require said authorities to show their respective credentials. During the inspection act, workers may be represented by trade union leaders, where a trade union organization exists in the company, or by one or two fellow workers, and in the case of employers, through the representatives of the employer.

Obstruction of inspection work by the employer or their representatives, by workers or by trade union organizations or their representatives, in accordance with Article 281 of this Code, constitutes a violation subject to sanctions. When the obstruction includes any type of aggression against the labor authorities, the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare shall pursue the pertinent legal actions.

When the inspector verifies the existence of an alleged violation of labor and social welfare provisions, including obstruction of inspection work, the inspector shall draw up a detailed preventive record, by which the inspector shall inform the person liable for its commission or omission, and shall recommend the adoption, within a reasonable time limit, of the measures necessary to ensure compliance with the violated provisions. Immediately upon expiration of said time limit, the Inspectorate shall verify compliance with the ordered measures.

Inspection and verification actions may be carried out by means of a summons to the premises of the Labor Inspectorate of the locality of the workplace, in cases where the possible violation and compliance with the inspector's preventive notices can be verified without the need for a visit to the workplace, to present the documentation and prove compliance with their obligations.

In case of compliance, the departmental delegates of the General Labor Inspectorate shall be informed by means of a detailed record, for the filing of the case file.

In case of non-compliance or failure to appear in response to the summons, the Labor Inspector shall draw up a detailed record of violation, with which the Labor Inspector shall initiate the administrative sanctioning file, which shall be forwarded, within the three (3) days following, to the Departmental Delegate of the General Labor Inspectorate, for the Departmental Delegate to review the file and issue the respective decision, including a possible sanction and measures necessary to ensure compliance with the violated provisions.

The records of violation for non-compliance with labor and social welfare provisions, as well as the records of violation for obstructing inspection work, shall indicate the facts that gave rise to the inspection work, the classification of the violations attributed with a statement of the violated provisions and the measures necessary to ensure compliance with the violated provisions, as well as the sanction proposals established in accordance with Article 272 of this Code, according to the gradation of the violation.

Once the record of violation is submitted by the Labor Inspector, the Departmental Delegate of the General Labor Inspectorate shall issue the decision within the ten (10) working days following. A copy of all actions shall be delivered to the parties.

The administrative sanctioning procedure is aimed at the imposition of the sanction and the correction of non-compliance with obligations established in the legislation in force on labor and security and social welfare matters.

The General Labor Inspectorate may demand compliance with obligations or labor rights between the parties whose cognizance and determination is not within the exclusive jurisdiction of the tribunals.

Where the decision is of a sanctioning nature:

a)Said decision shall impose a sanction in accordance with the gradation established in Article 272 of this Code; specifying the reason for the sanction in accordance with the breached provisions;

b)It shall also expressly contain the measures necessary to ensure compliance with the violated provisions;

c)The consented or confirmed decision has the character of an enforcement title;

d)When the sanctioned party is the employer, the fines shall be imposed on the latter, whether a natural person or legal entity, jointly and severally with their representatives who participated in the act constituting the offense and without whose participation it could not have been carried out;

e)When the sanctioned party is a trade union organization, the fines shall be imposed on the latter jointly and severally with their representatives who participated in the act constituting the offense and without whose participation it could not have been carried out; against the decision of the Departmental Delegate of the General Labor Inspectorate, the application for revocation lies as provided in Article 275 of this Code.

The Departmental Delegate of the General Labor Inspectorate shall impose the sanctions for labor and social welfare violations, as follows:

a)Where violation of the rules requiring payment of wages and other labor benefits has been established; it shall give rise to the imposition of a fine of between eight (8) and eighteen (18) monthly minimum wages in effect for non-agricultural activities.

b)Where violation of a prohibitory provision has been established it shall give rise to the imposition of a fine of between two (2) and ten (10) monthly minimum wages in effect for non-agricultural activities, in the case of employers, and between two (2) and ten (10) daily minimum wages in effect for non-agricultural activities in the case of workers or trade union organizations.

c)Where violation of a mandatory provision of Title Three of this Code, another law and another labor and social welfare provision regarding working hours or rest periods committed by any employer or worker has been established, it shall give rise to the imposition of a fine of between six (6) and twelve (12) monthly minimum wages in effect for non-agricultural activities.

d)Where violations of the mandatory provisions of Title Five of this Code, another law or labor and social welfare provision regarding occupational health and safety committed by any employer have been established, it gives rise to the imposition of a fine of between eight (8) and sixteen (16) monthly minimum wages in effect for non-agricultural activities. In the case of the worker the fine shall be between four (4) and eight (8) daily minimum wages in effect for non-agricultural activities.

e)Where any violation of the mandatory provisions of Title Seven of this Code, another labor and social welfare law regarding strike or lockout has been established, it gives rise to the imposition of a fine of between five (5) and ten (10) monthly minimum wages if employers are involved; and from two (2) to five (5) daily minimum wages if workers are involved, in effect in both cases for non-agricultural activities.

f)Where violations of the provisions of Articles 61, 63, 87 and 281 literal m) of this Code have been established, the fines established in the preceding subsection shall be imposed, depending on whether employers, workers or trade union organizations are involved.

g)Where violation of any mandatory provision of this Code not provided for by the preceding subsections, or another labor and social welfare law or provision has been established, it gives rise to the imposition of a fine of between two (2) and nine (9) monthly minimum wages, if employers are involved, and from ten (10) to twenty (20) daily minimum wages, if workers or their organizations are involved, in effect in both cases for non-agricultural activities.

Once the decision imposing the sanction has been notified, the offender shall have five (5) days to make the corresponding payment at the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare, unless the offender has filed an application for revocation regulated in Article 275 of this Code.

If at the time of payment, the offender declares that the violation for which the offender was sanctioned has been corrected, the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare shall exonerate fifty percent (50%) of the amount of the fine, upon prior verification of compliance.

If the offender pays the fine but does not demonstrate having corrected the conduct for which the sanction was applied, the General Labor Inspectorate shall initiate the proceedings for enforcement of the decision pursuant to Article 425 of this Code to compel the offender to remedy the violation. The right of those entitled to demand compliance with an obligation recognized by law to initiate the cited procedure is reserved.

If the offender does not pay the fine and does not demonstrate having corrected the conduct for which the sanction was applied, or does not comply with the decision and does not file an application for revocation, the General Labor Inspectorate shall initiate the proceedings for enforcement of the decision under Article 426 of this Code to compel the offender to pay the fine and remedy the conduct in order to comply with the law. The right of those entitled to demand compliance with an obligation recognized by law to initiate the cited procedure is reserved.

If the offender files an application for revocation regulated in Article 275 of this Code and the decision of the Departmental Delegate of the General Labor Inspectorate becomes final, the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare shall promote compliance with the decision for collection of the fine and seek to remedy the conducts that gave rise to the sanction in accordance with the procedure established in Article 426 of this Code. The right of those entitled to demand compliance with an obligation recognized by law to initiate the cited procedure is reserved.

The General Labor Inspectorate shall administer the Register of Labor and Social Welfare Violations in which shall be recorded the names of the natural or juridical persons who have been sanctioned pursuant to the respective procedure and that have become final in the administrative venue or have become final in the judicial venue, as well as their removal after one year has elapsed from its imposition if there is no recidivism, upon payment of the fine or compliance with the violation that caused it.

To access the information in this Register the procedure established in the Law on Access to Public Information, Decree Number 57-2008 of the Congress of the Republic, shall be followed.

The amount of the fines imposed in the administrative venue plus the interest accrued constitute private funds of the General Labor Inspectorate.

To obtain or maintain any tax or tariff benefit, to participate in bids, quotations or to enter into contracts with the State, companies shall not have pending payment of administrative sanctions and correction of non-compliance with obligations relating to minimum general conditions of employment, labor, occupational safety and health provided for in labor and social welfare legislation.

If the infractions, violations or breaches referred to in Article 272, as well as all others provided for in the other labor or social welfare laws, are committed, encouraged or tolerated by public officials or workers in the service of the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare, of any other body related to the activities thereof, or of the Labor and Social Welfare Tribunals, in addition to the corresponding sanction, those found guilty must be removed from their respective positions without loss of time. What is stated in special provisions remains unaffected with respect to the sanction to be imposed, as well as any greater criminal and civil liability that the ordinary tribunals may declare against those found guilty.