P.R. Laws tit. 3, § 320
The Department shall provide mediation and conciliation services, and it shall intervene and mediate for the purpose of keeping industrial peace, in such industrial, agricultural or other disputes, conflicts or controversies connected to the application of labor laws, as may arise between workers and employers.
The Department shall also have an Office of Mediation and Adjudication that shall conciliate and adjudicate worker-employer controversies on the following matters:
(1) Claims for violations of the right to reinstatement in § 7 of Title 11, part of the “Workmen’s Accident Compensation Act”, in which no indemnization for damages claim is made.
(2) Claims for wages, vacations and sick leave, pursuant to §§ 250—250j of Title 29.
(3) Sections 171 et seq. of Title 29, on the payment of wages.
(4) Sections 185a—185m of Title 29, on unjustified dismissal in which no indemnization for damages claim is made for other additional causes, separate from the right to allowance and compensation for the act of dismissal pursuant to said sections.
(5) Sections 501—507 of Title 29, on the Christmas Bonus.
(6) Sections 271—288 of Title 29, on working hours.
(7) Section 472 of Title 29, on working mothers’ leave in cases whereby no claim is made for compensation or indemnization for damages, and there are no penalties for other additional or separate causes other than severance, or the payment or granting of the leave claimed.
Once a complaint is received from the Bureau of Labor Standards, the Office of Mediation and Adjudication shall summon the parties in controversy to a conciliation hearing or session to be held within the following twenty (20) days as of the date of receipt of the complaint. The parties shall be advised of their right to legal assistance and representation in said conciliation hearing or session. If after the mediation and conciliation procedures are conducted before the Office, the parties fail to arrive at a satisfactory agreement, such procedures shall be concluded and the case shall follow the procedures for adjudicating the controversy before an Official Examiner or an Administrative Judge.
The Office of Mediation and Adjudication of the Department of Labor shall have concurrent jurisdiction with the Court of First Instance at the option of the complainant or claimant in matters within its jurisdiction and shall issue its decisions or resolutions to settle controversies pursuant to the law through the procedures established in §§ 2101 et seq. of this title, known as the “Uniform Administrative Procedures Act”, except that once the hearing is held and the controversy is submitted for his/her consideration, the Official Examiner or Administrative Judge shall issue the same within sixty (60) days as of the date on which the case was submitted.
The Official Examiners or Administrative Judges shall be knowledgeable in the field of labor, preferably attorneys, and they shall be authorized to take oaths, summon witnesses, to order the production of documents and materials, and to issue protection orders. At their discretion, they may authorize the discovery of evidence in a limited manner, in harmony with the purpose of guaranteeing speedy and economical procedures, pursuant to the Rules of Civil Procedure.
When the applicable law for the adjudication of a complaint or controversy before an Official Examiner or Administrative Judge does not provide for the payment of the fees of the claimant worker’s attorney, the payment of such fees in an amount of not more than twenty-five percent (25%) of the amount to be received by the worker as a consequence of his/her complaint, or three hundred fifty dollars ($350), whichever is greater, shall be imposed on the employer that is found to be responsible for the violation of the law in question. Such attorney fees shall be the only authorized fees to be earned by the legal representative of the worker.
In the case a determination of the Office adjudicating a controversy is final and binding, and the adversely affected party fails to comply with the provisions of said determination, the Secretary, through his/her attorneys, may resort to the Court of First Instance for the latter to put in effect the decision of the Bureau and order full compliance with its provisions including all remedies and sanctions that apply according to the law, as if it were a court judgment including, without it being understood as a limitation, the imposition of interest for the amounts owed, the seizure of goods or sanctions for contempt.
The court shall give priority to these cases in its docket and, within not more than thirty (30) days as of the date on which the request of the Secretary is presented, shall summon the parties to appear at a hearing.
History —Apr. 14, 1931, No. 15, p. 168, § 18; May 13, 1943, No. 144, p. 444, § 1; Sept. 17, 2004, No. 384, § 1.