Regional court rules Uber drivers are not employees according to Brazilian law

UPDATE on February 14th: Another ruling from the same court, on a separate case, has declared that Uber drivers are indeed employees. The matter is still highly controversial.



A Federal judge has ruled, in one specific case, that a Uber drives is not entitled to the benefits of Brazilian labour laws. The ruling was based on the fact that the driver enjoyed a high level of independence and autonomy, not being subject to strict schedules or to direct orders from a boss.

This does not create any enforceable precedent (Brazilian law does not work with court precedents, except on a handfew cases).

However, it is one of the first decisions on the matter and it certainly  will have an impact in future cases, specially in Minas Gerais state, where the court is located.

This has been a total surprise to me. I was betting that the Brazilian courts, which are always over protective of workers, would use this opportunity to extend its claws over Uber and other apps.

I`m glad for being wrong on this matter. Brazil needs a lot more freedom for entrepreneurs.

By the way: I`m not a big fan of Uber`s legal standing in Brazil, generally speaking. But I will leave this topic for another time. 

Debt collection in Brazil x Korea

See also:  Verifying a Brazilian Power of Attorney - Question from Korea





I have just read a post from the Korea Law Blog that details how Korean courts can seize, or garnish, part of the salary of a debtor, in order to pay a creditor (Please check the link at the end).



The Korean system is remarkable. In Brazil, salaries cannot be seized for the payment of debts!


This limitation is traditional in our legal system, and is based on the old assumption that rich people would have colateral to guarantee his debts, while poor people would use 100% of its income to survive, and thus should not be subject to losing its only source nutrition and shelter.



This limitation is being lifted slowly by the courts, specially if the creditor is a former employee of the debtor and, therefore, would also need to receive its salary in order to survive.



Brazil is not Korea, though. You should always ask for a colaterall.



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The Korean Law Blog: Garnishing Wages in Korea: Collection of Debts in ...: I received a call from a friend asking about information concerning collecting on a large personal debt. He loaned money to a “friend” and ...