Before the Labor Reform (Law No. 13,467/17), in force as of November 11, 2017, if companies did not grant a full one-hour break for meals and rest, the so-called intra-workday break, they had to pay an entire hour of overtime, even if employees had enjoyed most of this time. That is, employers who granted only 15 minutes were treated in the same manner as employers who granted 45 minutes of meal break.

The professionals who work in the area of corporate integrity have raised great expectations regarding the beginning of the new federal government this year, especially regarding the performance of the new justice minister, former magistrate Sergio Moro, who became known for the judgments in the largest corporate corruption case in Brazil, Operation Carwash.

The enactment of a new version of the Sanitation Executive Order took place in the transition between governments at the federal level later this year. The first version of the Executive Order lost its effectiveness due to the expiration of the time limit without timely approval of its conversion into law. Despite the difficulties in approval by the Legislature, the new Executive Order replicates the previous text with some relevant changes. The news reveals a reinforcement of the private participation in the sector and in the initiative of the Federal Government in providing financial and technical support to states and municipalities for basic sanitation projects.

Brazil has one of the most complex regulatory environments in the world for those who want to start up a business venture, according to the publication Doing Business 2019,1 of the World Bank Group.

Law No. 13,792/19, published in the Official Federal Gazette on January 4, provides more flexibility to limited liability companies by reducing the capital stock necessary for dismissal of managing partners named in the articles of association from a two-thirds majority to a simple majority, without preventing the partners from agreeing, if they so wish, to any greater minimum. This amendment, made in article 1,063, first paragraph, of the Civil Code, will allow majority partners to remove minority partners from the position of manager more quickly, thus avoiding extended disputes that could affect a company’s operation.

At the end of 2017, Justice Regina Helena Costa, of the First Panel of the Superior Court of Justice (STJ), admitted an appeal against a divergent decision filed by a taxpayer (EAREsp No. 1.078.194/RJ) against an appellate decision that established the understanding that the ICMS-ST is not a tax different from the ICMS-normal, but merely a form of collection, while maintaining the application of article 13, paragraph 1, I, of Complementary Law No. 87/96, which would legitimize the inclusion of the ICMS-ST in its own base.