Bringing a claim against your employer, free and without a lawyer: the OMA

The OMA is the administrative forum implementing the public policy of harmonizing labour disputes, through alternative dispute resolution methods and an adjudicative procedure. It has concurrent jurisdiction with the Court of First Instance over claims under nine statutes: Ley Núm. 17 of 17 April 1931, on payment of wages; Article 5A of Ley Núm. 45 of 18 April 1935, for violation of the right to reinstatement; Ley Núm. 3 of 13 March 1942, on working mothers’ leave; Ley Núm. 289 of 9 April 1946, on payment of wages on the day of rest; Ley Núm. 379 of 15 May 1948, on working hours; Ley Núm. 148 of 30 June 1969, on the Christmas bonus; Ley Núm. 80 of 30 May 1976, for unjustified dismissal; Ley Núm. 180 of 27 July 1998, for wages, vacation and sick leave; and Ley Núm. 4 of 26 January 2017, the Labor Transformation and Flexibility Act.

The OMA’s stated purpose is to give a forum to non-unionized private-sector employees. Your claim’s subject matter must fall under one of the nine statutes the OMA administers. That the jurisdiction is concurrent with the Court of First Instance means the same matter can also be taken to court; the OMA is the free, no-lawyer-required alternative, not a prerequisite to court.

• That the claim fall under one of the nine statutes in the OMA’s jurisdiction: wages, reinstatement, working mothers’ leave, day of rest, working hours, Christmas bonus, unjustified dismissal, wages/vacation/sick leave, or Ley 4-2017.Verified against the official source
• Being a non-unionized private-sector employee: that is the population the OMA was created for.Verified against the official source

Information pending verification.

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   Step 1: Check that your claim is on the list

   The OMA does not handle just any labour problem: it handles those under nine specific statutes. If you are owed wages, it is Ley 17-1931 or Ley 180-1998. If you are owed vacation or sick leave, Ley 180-1998. If your Christmas bonus went unpaid, Ley 148-1969. If you were dismissed without just cause, Ley 80-1976. If it is about working hours, Ley 379-1948; if about day-of-rest pay, Ley 289-1946. If it is working mothers’ leave, Ley 3-1942. If you were denied reinstatement, Article 5A of Ley 45-1935. And Ley 4-2017, the Labor Transformation and Flexibility Act, is also within it.

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   Step 2: Call or write to the OMA

   The published phones are (787) 754-5858, extensions 1260, 1261 and 1205, and (787) 754-5353, extension 12605. The fax is (787) 765-4013 and the email oma@trabajo.pr.gov. If your case comes from a prior Labor Standards Bureau or Antidiscrimination Unit investigation, say so: the adjudicative procedure is subsequent to and independent of those investigations.

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   Step 3: Mediation: voluntary, confidential and privileged

   Mediation is a non-adversarial, non-adjudicative intervention in which a mediator acts as facilitator so the parties reach a mutually acceptable agreement. What matters is the protection: the information or documentation the parties offer and the mediator’s working file cannot be demanded in judicial or administrative adjudication proceedings, including the OMA’s own adjudicative process. And no party may disclose, wholly or partly, what was said in mediation, on pain of sanctions, absent the written consent of all parties. You can speak frankly without it being used against you later.

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   Step 4: Adjudication: an administrative judge decides

   If there is no agreement, adjudication is the procedure in which an Administrative Judge determines each party’s rights, obligations or privileges. It is subsequent to and independent of the investigative process of the Labor Standards Bureau and the Antidiscrimination Unit and, in certain circumstances, is reached after exhausting mediation. The OMA lists the rights safeguarded: timely and adequate notice of the complaint; filing an answer to the complaint; cross-examining witnesses and examining the evidence against you; appearing on your own behalf or through a lawyer; presenting evidence; an impartial Administrative Judge; an impartial adjudication; and a decision based on the administrative record.

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   Step 5: You can go on your own, and so can the employer

   Among the advantages the OMA publishes is the flexibility of administrative procedures: parties may appear on their own behalf, including corporations, partnerships and other legal entities. That last part is unusual — in court corporations normally must be represented — and it means neither you nor the employer is forced to pay a lawyer to take part. DTRH also lists the service as free.

Mediation and Adjudication Office of the Department of Labor and Human Resources. Phones (787) 754-5858, extensions 1260, 1261 and 1205, and (787) 754-5353, extension 12605. Fax (787) 765-4013. Email oma@trabajo.pr.gov.

• Not filing because you believe you must pay a lawyer: the service is free and you may appear on your own.
• Taking a discrimination case to the OMA, which belongs to the Antidiscrimination Unit.
• Believing you must go through the OMA before going to court: the jurisdiction is concurrent, not tiered.
• Staying silent in mediation for fear it will be used later: what is said there is confidential and privileged.
• Disclosing what was discussed in mediation without all parties’ written consent: that is subject to sanctions.
• Letting time run without asking what the deadline to file the complaint is.

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

• Departamento del Trabajo y Recursos Humanos (DTRH)

  Departamento del Trabajo

  www.trabajo.pr.gov