Fun With Honduran Labor Law

We’ve had several situations over the past few months that have required me to put on my human resources hat and delve into the murky world of Honduran labor law. This is always a challenge because the Honduran government does not post these laws in their entirety online (at least, not that I can find), but we are nonetheless required to comply with them.

In my research, I have found several sites that have been very helpful, but most are in Spanish (of course). I also found a site that includes short English summaries of the various related laws, interpretations, amendments, directives, etc. I love this one because it at least gives me a clue about what I am about to attempt to translate with my very poor Spanish skills.

While browsing through this site recently looking for information about probationary employment periods (fun stuff), I came across the following summaries.

Interpretation of Article 4 of the Labor Code (Codigo del Trabajo)
Decree 927-80 of 7 of May 1980 interprets Article 4 of the Labor Code (Codigo del Trabajo), contained in Decree 180 of 19 May 1959, by stating that the definition of worker includes the ones that sell frozen products such as ice cream cones, for fulfilling the essential requirements of the labor contract.

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Decree 61 of 31 March 1962 interprets Article 344 of the Labor Code and provides that barber shops are industrial establishments and, therefore, should remain closed on Sundays.

Obviously, neither of these were very helpful for my needs, but they did make me chuckle.

Side Note: I’m finally back out of my cave (the office), where I have been holed up for 2 months building a new Web site for the lodge—hence, my recent return to the blogosphere. The new site is at the same URL as the old one, so check it out if you get a chance and tell me what you think.