Current Paternity Leave Entitlement Is Ruled Unconstitutional

The Dominican Republic's government-paid paternity leave was struck down as unconstitutional, with efforts continuing to move toward gender equality in paid parental leave.

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The Constitutional Court has struck down the government-paid paternity leave entitlement of two days under the Labor Code, on the grounds that it violates the right to equality on the basis of gender and the principle of reasonableness established by the constitution. Interestingly, the decision is similar to a recent one by the High Court in South Africa that declared family leave rules there unconstitutional due to unfair discrimination between mothers and fathers (see this Global News Brief: South Africa: Court finds current statutory family leave rules unconstitutional).