It should be noted that Article 2 of Act 7337, which established the concept of "base salary" for special offenses under the Criminal Code, stipulates that the base salary is deemed to be equivalent to the monthly base salary of the "Clerk 1" position listed in the positions schedule of the Ordinary Budget Act of the Republic of Costa Rica. In addition, Article 398 of the Labor Code adopts this same concept for the assessment of fines imposed for violations of labor regulations.
Therefore, during an inspection conducted by the Ministry of Labor and Social Security, if an employer is found to have infringed any labor-related provision or regulation, such employer may face a fine ranging from 1 to 23 base salaries, i.e., an amount between â‚¡462,200.00 and up to â‚¡10,630,600.00. The estimation of the fine rests with a Judge of the Republic who, after a judicial procedure, will assess the severity of the violation and set the corresponding penalty. Also, the judge may order the infringing employer to correct the violation, where necessary.
The aforementioned official communication was published in the Judicial Bulletin on January 8, 2024.