Cipa needs to combat sexual harassment – 03/31/2023 – Market

It is now mandatory for the companies’ accident prevention committees, the Cipas, to also include the fight against harassment in their actions.

The change does not affect only the name of these committees. Companies required to have Cipa also have to adopt at least three measures to ensure a work environment free of sexual harassment and other forms of violence.

Companies have to define rules of conduct to curb harassment and violence in the company and widely publicize them, they need to create a channel for receiving and following up on complaints and defining sanctions for those responsible.

Finally, once every 12 months, employees at all hierarchical levels will have to undergo training.

Law 14,457/22, which created the obligation, and Ordinance 4,219 of 2022, which detailed it, define these trainings as “training, guidance and awareness actions” on topics “related to violence, harassment, equality and to diversity in the workplace”.

The ordinance came into effect on March 20, but, in the opinion of lawyers, companies that have not yet implemented all the measures should not be punished immediately, especially if they demonstrate that the new rules are being implemented.

The biggest concern should be, in the opinion of lawyer Gabriela Lima, labor partner at the TozziniFreire office, reputation –it is increasingly relevant for public opinion that a company shows concern about the matter– and the possible effect of this omission in the event of a lawsuit judicial.

“Many companies were already paying attention to this, this need. A negative point of the law is that it did not establish a fine”, says the lawyer. In these cases, the punishment provided for non-compliance with regulatory norms, the NRs, is valid, which vary according to the type of infraction and the number of employees.

“In general, it is not a very high fine, of approximately R$ 700. However, if the company did not implement it and there was a case of harassment and this is prosecuted, the situation becomes more complicated”, he says.

The Ministry of Labor and Employment says that companies inspected after the validity of the new rule are subject to the “double visit criterion”. If in a first audit the changes are not implemented, the company will be instructed by the labor inspection and will undergo a new inspection 90 days later.

Lawyer Cristian Baldani, partner in the labor area at the Veirano office, points out that the obligations apply to all employees.

Although many companies had already been implementing awareness programs in cases of harassment and the promotion of a safe work environment, the rule in force now provides for the obligation to “everyone, from the factory floor to the company’s president”.

Law 14,457/22, which established these measures to prevent and combat harassment, is the same that created, last year, the Emprega Mais Mulheres program, with policies to encourage female employability.

Most provisions of this legislation are optional – companies are authorized to adopt certain benefits or policies to rebalance parenting. The change in Cipa is one of the few obligations, although restricted to companies that have these internal commissions.

This restriction, however, should not limit companies. For Cascione’s lawyer, Rodrigo Nunes, companies cannot leave the control of sexual harassment in the work environment solely in charge of Cipa. “It is necessary to develop a program within the company.

Lawyer Tainã Góis, from the Women’s Network of Jurists, points out that companies and workplaces are directly responsible for what happens in their environments. “It is important not to individualize responsibility. It is harassment when it happens at happy hour, if it happens at a company party, if it happens on WhatsApp. All of this is the company’s responsibility.”

The Ministry of Labor and Employment says that there is no record of Cipa. Therefore, it is not possible to say how many companies have the commission and how many have already adopted the changes provided for in the legislation and the ordinance.

According to the folder, the last survey of data carried out on these committees, in 2018, estimated that there were 500,000 members of the Cipa, without indicating the number of committees.

The legislation that affected Cipa also had effects on those who set up a reporting channel. Contacto Seguro says it has noticed a gradual increase in demand for the creation of this service since September last year, when the law was published.

In the last six months, demand has doubled, according to Diego Galvão, managing partner of the company. He says he has also noticed that more smaller companies have started to look for the creation of channels for receiving complaints. Before, says the entrepreneur, this interest was seen more frequently in companies with more than a thousand employees.

Who is obliged to have Cipa (Internal Commission for the Prevention of Accidents and Harassment)

The general rule for a company to need such a commission is the number of employees and the type of activity carried out. The Ministry of Labor and Employment defines degrees of risk for economic activities.

For companies with risk levels 3 and 4, the obligation to have Cipa exists when there are from 20 employees. In the case of grade 2, from 51 employees. Those classified in grade 1 will need to form a committee if they have more than 80 employees.

The risk classification of each company is defined in another regulatory standard, the NR-4. It establishes, for example, that the retail trade of beverages is risk level 2, while that of meat and fish (butchers and fishmongers) is risk level 3.

Administrative activities, such as banks, investment funds, health plans, rent management, employment and travel agencies, are all risk level 1, according to the classification of the Ministry of Labor and Employment.

At the other end, infrastructure works, such as construction of highways and railways, demolition, drilling and sounding, are risk level 4 activities.