Labour and employment in Dominican Republic

Clients appreciate Guzmán Ariza's 'good reputation, and the seriousness with which it handles cases'. The firm assists clients with a great variety of labour and employment matters, starting from employment contracts all the way to termination of employment, collective bargaining agreements, labour regulation compliance and employee assignment in the event of M&A activities. The firm has a broad local reach in the country, granting 'competitive advantage of local knowledge'. Many of the firm's lawyers are highly appreciated both by clients and the market. Rhadaisis Espinal's 'experience puts her at the top in her area of legal practice'; she co-leads the practice together with Rubén García. In Puerto Plata, Julio Brea Guzmán stands out for his 'deep professional knowledge of the areas'; he specialises in litigation, management training, employment audits, severance agreements, and employment policies and handbooks. Senior counsel Elvis Roque is also noted.

Highlighted for its 'knowledge and mastery' in labour law, Headrick Rizik Alvarez & Fernández focuses its highly regarded labour and employment practice on advising employers. On the non-contentious side, the team is often involved in the implementation and modification of labour and human resources policies, the creation and restructuring of labour benefit policies and counselling in connection with agreements, including with the discussion of union agreements. The group also stands out for its dispute resolution capabilities and its involvement in processes related to the revision and modification of labour legislation and regulatory initiatives. In the latter area, practice head Tomás Hernández particularly stands out, especially for having advised the National Council of Private Enterprise, the Association of Industries of the Dominican Republic and the National Association of Hotels and Restaurants. Telecoms, financial services, free zones, hotels and tourism, food, education and pharmaceuticals are among the firm's extensive list of sector specialisms. Manuel Madera and senior associate Federico Pinchinat are noted.

Pereyra & Asociados is best known for its ability to advise companies with the goal of avoiding liability for employment-related lawsuits, for its negotiation and mediation expertise as well as its work in contentious cases up to the superior courts. The team also assists clients with matters of a non-contentious nature, including contracts, union strategies, company policies and benefits. Luis Miguel Pereyra and Gregorio García are the main contacts in the team, which is a member of the international network Employment Law Alliance.

Russin, Vecchi & Heredia Bonetti assists corporate clients in a broad range of labour and employment matters. The team has longstanding expertise and particular strength in labour disputes, a line of business which runs parallel to its non-contentious focus. On the advisory side, the group particularly stands out for its in-depth knowledge of regulation and its ability to help foreign clients in setting up local subsidiaries, from the registration before local labour and social security authorities to providing advice on hiring, income tax and social security. The team is jointly led by managing partner Georges Santoni Recio and José Maldonado Stark, both of whom are also corporate lawyers.

ECIJA DVMS is particularly experienced in defending labour claims for international and local clients. Major League Baseball and sports industry companies in general are the firm’s most active clients, as the team has a strong specialism in the sports sector, including in labour and employment matters. The group’s offering also covers restructuring operations, which have been very prominent recently, including those involving terminations, suspensions, negotiations and salary reductions of large groups of employees. Gabriel Dejarden assists employers with the design and implementation of labour manuals and policies, hiring of high-level executives and cross-border assignment of employees. Edward Salcedo represents multinationals in all types of labour claims, while also providing pre-litigation advice to mitigate labour risks and assessing labour risks in M&A transactions.

At Jiménez Peña, Rosa Díaz heads the firm’s standalone labour and employment department. The team offers full-service advice covering transactions, regulation, agreements, negotiations and terminations in a number of industry sectors. Key differentiators are the group’s expertise in investigations and criminal cases involving violations, as well as its ability and focus on preventive consultation. Díaz is extremely active in both labour advisory and disputes. Senior associate Laura Medina Acosta also stands out for her contentious labour practice. Since publication, Medina Acosta has been promoted to the partnership and will henceforth co-lead the arbitration practice - effective as of March 2022.

Pellerano & Herrera focuses on labour matters deriving from global M&A transactions, data privacy and health matters. Its most frequent clients include multinationals, a significant number of which operate in the life sciences sector. They turn to the firm to handle employee terminations, the implementation of remote work, compensation matters and confidentiality agreements. The advisory practice is led by special counsel Isabel Andrickson, who is a specialist in social security, among other areas. Lucy Objío heads up the labour litigation group and has niche expertise in sports law. Corporate lawyer Carolina Léon is also a key member of the team.