Gilmar criticizes the Labor Court for canceling the relationship between the driver and the app

It is lawful to hire self-employed professionals to provide services inherent to the core business of the contracting company.

Based on this understanding, Minister Gilmar Mendes, of the Federal Supreme Court, annulled a ruling by the Regional Labor Court of the 3rd Region (MG) that recognized the employment relationship between an app driver and the Cabify platform (which no longer operates in Brazil).

The decision was prompted by a constitutional complaint filed by the company with a request for an injunction. In the lawsuit, the company argued that the TRT-3 ruling failed to comply with the understanding established by the Supreme Federal Court (STF) in the judgments of ADPF 324 and RE 958,252 (General Repercussion Issue 725), in which the court ruled that forms of hiring other than the employment relationship established by Article 3 of the Consolidated Labor Laws are lawful.

In his ruling, the Supreme Court justice stated that the Minas Gerais Regional Labor Court's ruling disregarded the court's precedent on the matter. He also said that the Superior Labor Court has seriously hampered the political choices made by the Executive and Legislative branches.

“Ultimately, the social engineering that the Labor Court has attempted to carry out is nothing more than a futile attempt to frustrate the evolution of the means of production, which have been accompanied by legislative developments in this area.”

Gilmar argued that if the Federal Constitution does not impose a specific production model, it makes no sense to maintain the "shackles" of a model that goes against the global trend.

“The freedom of productive organization of citizens is essential for the progress of Brazilian workers, understood as a guideline for regulatory power to avoid interventions in the dynamics of the economy that are incompatible with the postulates of proportionality and reasonableness.”

Attorney Daniel Domingues Chiode, partner at the Chiode Minicucci | Littler law firm and Cabify's attorney in lawsuits pending before the Supreme Court, highlighted the importance of the decisions: "This new decision by Justice Gilmar Mendes reaffirms the understanding that app workers are not covered by the types of work regulated by the Consolidation of Labor Laws (CLT)."

"The Consolidation of Labor Laws (CLT), in the Supreme Court's view, is definitely not prepared to regulate app-based work. As with other reforms, the Supreme Court, through its decisions, anticipated and established regulatory frameworks based on the Constitution for sensitive issues. This occurred with the labor reform, the electoral reform, among others," he added.

Article originally published on November 15, 2023 on the Conjur website.