Puerto Rico: Recruitment and selection

Original authors: Shiara Diloné-Fernández, Elizabeth Pérez-Lleras, Littler.

Updating author: Edwin J. Seda-Fernández, Adsuar Muñiz Goyco Seda & Pérez-Ochoa, P.S.C.

See the legal services provided by the authors of International > Puerto Rico, including any discounts/offers for subscribers.

Summary

• US federal and local Puerto Rico laws prohibit discrimination in recruitment and selection on a wide range of grounds. (See Discrimination)
• Job advertisements must not be discriminatory on the prohibited grounds. They are subject to little other statutory regulation, although, under local law, employers must notify the governmental Office of the Advocate for Veterans Affairs about all vacancies. (See Advertising vacancies)
• Federal and/or local law governs various aspects of background checks on job applicants, notably in relation to criminal records and financial checks. (See Background checks)
• Federal and local discrimination law places restrictions on the medical and genetic information that employers may obtain relating to job applicants. (See Medical and genetic information)
• Employers may set up drug-testing programmes for employees and job applicants, although such programmes must comply with various requirements set by local statute. (See Pre-employment drug tests)
• There is no federal or local law requirement that private-sector job offers must be in writing and, if employers make job offers in a written letter, such offer letters are generally not legally binding. (See Job offers)
• Employers must verify the identity and eligibility to work of all new recruits, and observe several other recruitment formalities. (See Recruitment formalities)
• The minimum age for employment is generally 16 years (with some exceptions), and the employment of any minor under the age of 18 requires a special certificate or permit and is subject to various other restrictions. (See Young people and children)
• Puerto Rico is governed by US immigration law, including its rules on work permits and visas. (See Foreign nationals)