Definition of ‘employee‘ for purpose of investigation protections

At a glance

• Puerto Rico’s Act No. 115-1991 (Act 115) protects employees who collaborate with internal or external investigations. 
• The Act has recently been amended to clarify and extend the scope of the definition of ‘employee‘. 
• Recent changes also specify which employees actions  are covered by the Act’s protection. 

Act 115, which was enacted to protect public and private sector employees who collaborate with internal or external investigations, has been amended by Act No. 81-2024 (Act 81) to expand the definition of the ‘term employee‘, as contained in the Act. 

Specifically, Act 115 originally defined ‘employee‘ as ‘any person who provides services in exchange for wages, or any type of remuneration, by means of an oral, written, explicit or implicit contract'. Act 81 amends Act 115 to clarify that ‘employee‘ is defined ‘without distinction of the nature of their position or classification, whether hired indefinitely or for a fixed period, including public carriers as defined in Law No. 109 of June 28, 1962, as amended'.

The amendment additionally clarified that these protections extend to verbal or written testimony, expressions, or information the employee may offer during an internal investigative process or to an employee or company representative in a position of authority.