Moraes suspends decision that recognized employment relationship between driver and app

The Supreme Court minister also suspended the proceedings in all instances of the Labor Court.

Justice Alexandre de Moraes of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) temporarily overturned the decision of the Regional Labor Court of the 3rd Region (TRT3) of Minas Gerais, which established an employment relationship between a ride-hailing app driver and the ride-hailing company Cabify. He also suspended the case's progress in all levels of the Labor Court, meaning the appeals cannot be heard by the Superior Labor Court (TST) for the time being. The decision was made in Complaint 60,347.

This is the second time the minister has ruled against the employment relationship between individual transportation companies and drivers. In May, Moraes ruled in the same way. In the decision published this Tuesday (July 25), the minister justified the injunction based on the risk of provisional enforcement of the labor court ruling. He also emphasized that the Supreme Federal Court (STF) allows for alternative forms of employment.

“Therefore, in a summary judgment, it is possible to establish that the Court’s reiterated position was consolidated in the sense of the constitutional permission of alternative forms of employment relationship,” wrote Moraes.

According to Moraes, the Supreme Court's decisions recognize the possibility of organizing the division of labor not only through outsourcing, but also through other means developed by economic agents. Therefore, it is possible to eliminate the employment relationship between drivers and app-based companies.

Cabify filed a complaint with the Supreme Federal Court (STF), a type of action in which one party claims that the Court's decision is not being followed by lower courts. According to Cabify, the Minas Gerais Labor Court's decision violates the STF precedent that allowed unrestricted outsourcing of core activities (ADPF 324 and RE 928,252). The company argues that the Supreme Court's decision allows for other forms of civil contracting, different from the employment relationship established by Article 3 of the Consolidation of Labor Laws (CLT).

O advogado da empresa, Daniel Chiode, informou que suspender a ação é uma forma de garantir o entendimento do STF sobre o tema. “Temos várias decisões [na Justiça do Trabalho brasileira] declarando vínculo com base em julgados de outros países, ignorando por completo o que o Supremo já decidiu aqui no Brasil.”

Article originally published on the JOTA portal on July 25, 2023.