STF gives Congress 18 months to regulate paternity leave

The Federal Supreme Court (STF) set, this Thursday (14), a deadline of 18 months for the National Congress to regulate paternity leave. If parliamentarians do not meet the deadline, the Court will define the criteria for granting the right. The ministers formed a majority to recognize the legislative omission on the topic.

The decision was taken in the judgment of the Direct Action of Unconstitutionality by Omission (ADO) 20, presented by the National Confederation of Health Workers (CNTS). The trial began in the virtual plenary, but the president of the STF, minister Luís Roberto Barroso, made a request for prominence and the case began to be judged in person.

The ministers had already formed a majority in the virtual plenary to recognize the legislative omission, but there was no consensus on the deadline for Congress to define the rules. After Barroso’s vote, the ministers agreed to establish a deadline of 18 months for parliamentarians.

The STF considered that the five-day leave provided for in paragraph 1 of article 10 of the Transitional Constitutional Provisions Act (ADCT) for more than three decades is insufficient and does not reflect the evolution of the roles played by men and women in the family and society. The Supreme Court has been analyzing the case since 2020. In the trial, only retired minister Marco Aurélio was defeated, who in his vote considered that there was no legislative gap on the topic.