Supreme Court Justice Kassio Nunes Marques overturned a labor court decision examining employment ties in a Prudential insurance franchise contract and ordered the process suspended. This follows a prior suspension of pejotization cases by Gilmar Mendes. The case challenges a Tribunal Superior do Trabalho (TST) ruling.
Brazil's Supreme Federal Court (STF) has again intervened in labor disputes involving pejotization, a practice where companies hire services through legal entities to sidestep employment obligations. In a recent ruling, Justice Kassio Nunes Marques quashed a Tribunal Superior do Trabalho (TST) decision that allowed a broker's lawsuit against insurer Prudential to proceed. The broker claims an employment relationship with the company.
Nunes Marques granted Prudential's appeal, stating that the TST disregarded a prior STF order. He noted that the tribunal "manteve a regular tramitação dos autos, em manifesta inobservância à decisão proferida por este Supremo Tribunal". This marks the second such action by the justice: he previously nullified another TST ruling and eight regional labor court decisions.
The backdrop is a 2025 order by Justice Gilmar Mendes suspending all national pejotization cases pending full STF review. That merits hearing will address the validity of pejotization contracts, the labor courts' jurisdiction, and the burden of proof—whether on the worker or the contractor.
Pejotization continues as a contentious issue in Brazilian labor law, affecting sectors like insurance and franchises. The STF has not set a date for the definitive ruling, but the suspensions aim to standardize jurisprudence.
