巴西新法强化家政工人反奴役保护，在巴中资企业用工合规需关注

A bill signed into law and published Thursday (2) in the Federal Official Gazette expanded protections for domestic workers subjected to conditions analogous to slavery, a crime that has affected at least 175 women in Brazil over the past nine years. The proposal gives victims priority access to the Bolsa Família income transfer program, increases unemployment insurance from three to six payments, creates new shelter mechanisms, and establishes new inspection rules by law. The changes come amid an increase in the number of victims rescued in recent years. Lívia Miraglia, a law professor at the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) and coordinator of the Clinic on Slave Labor and Human Trafficking, says this crime is marked by the exploitation of Black, poor, and low-educated women, often subjected to labor for an average of 26 years in their employers’ homes. Evandro Mesquita, a labor inspector, defines the crime as “a kidnapping of the worker’s life.” That was the case of Raquel (a fictitious name), a 62-year-old woman from Minas Gerais. She was handed over by her family to work as a domestic worker at age 12 and spent nearly half a century in her employer’s home. Rescued in June of this year in the municipality of Bragança Paulista, São Paulo, she never had clarity about the amounts she received. After retiring, she stopped being paid but continued working an even more intense routine to care for her bedridden employer. “In some interviews, we realized that this woman had never left. She had no social commitments of her own. She had no social life of her own. She had never taken a vacation,” says Cesar Dias, a labor inspector who took part in the victim’s rescue. “I asked one person whose testimony was taken whether this woman, for example, had ever gone out, slept away from home during vacation. And the person laughed and said, ‘No, of course not.’” The historical series of rescues of domestic workers in conditions analogous to slavery began only in 2017, when the first two official cases were recorded. Since then, 175 women have been removed from these conditions. In 2025, 17 victims were identified. Bahia leads the number of rescues, with 41 cases, followed by São Paulo, with 33. “When a worker asks a neighbor for help because she has no toothpaste, no food, she is not saying, ‘I am being exploited.’ She is asking for help to survive, not for someone to rescue her,” Miraglia says. “She never imagined that this was possible, so the report will never come from them. It is a Black, poor, low-educated girl who is taken in to be raised with the argument that appears in 100% of cases: that she is almost part of the family.” The rescue represents only the beginning of a process of rebuilding these women’s lives. The professor explains that, after so many years subjected to labor analogous to slavery, the domestic worker has known only one notion of family and love, even if those relationships are marked by dysfunctional bonds. In many cases, the workers have already lost contact with family members or simply do not wish to resume living with them, Miraglia notes. That was not the case for Raquel, who reestablished contact with her family of origin. The professor also says they cannot be sent to just any shelter because they need support. Many of them, the researcher says, face difficulties even accessing a bank account. After Raquel’s rescue, labor inspectors ordered the worker’s immediate removal. They calculated severance amounts totaling R$1.7 million, including wages, vacation pay, 13th salary, and R$500,000 in compensation for moral damages. According to the inspection team, in addition to the employer, other family members who benefited from the work and were aware of the situation may be held liable. Legislation Law 15455 expands protection and shelter measures for workers rescued from conditions analogous to slavery, with a special focus on domestic work. Among the main changes are prioritizing the granting of Bolsa Família benefits to rescued victims, increasing unemployment insurance from 3 to 6 minimum-wage payments, and including victims in the federal government’s Single Registry. The law also establishes new rules for inspections of the crime. Now, entry into the home may be authorized by the employer or the employee. Previously, inspections could be carried out only after prior scheduling and agreement with the employer. Miraglia and Dias explain that, in practice, inspection teams were already able to enter homes with the domestic worker’s authorization. According to the professor and the inspector, the measure in the bill remains important because it provides inspectors with greater legal certainty and helps prevent evidence from being invalidated. “When something that has already proved fruitful in practice, with good results, becomes law, I think we have a prospect of progress and of pacifying this problem. To me, as a legal practitioner, this always seemed obvious, but I often say that the obvious needs to be stated and, when it is written into law, all the better,” Miraglia says. The new legislation also requires police authorities to notify the Ministry of Labor and Employment and the Labor Prosecutor’s Office within 48 hours when they identify evidence of slave labor or other forms of violence against domestic workers. In cases involving a woman as the victim, the proposal authorizes the application of the Maria da Penha Law, including the issuance of urgent protective measures. The text also provides for institutional shelter and emergency housing when necessary. Regarding the expansion of social benefits, Miraglia explains that such measures are necessary to help workers rebuild their lives. Prioritizing the granting of these benefits should also speed up procedures, since it was often necessary to take the matter to court, she explains. For the professor, the law still left out issues related to retirement and recognition of the period worked. “You cannot even call it an assistance policy. It is actually a reparative policy, because if the state allows, within its social structure, a girl to be ‘almost part of the family’ for 26 years while being exploited, I think it is doing no more than its obligation by allowing her to access social benefits more smoothly,” Miraglia says. Translation: Todd Harkin