Hiring in Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico’s bilingual workforce and connection to the U.S. market make it appealing, but its labor laws differ from the mainland. Omnipresent acts as your Employer of Record (EOR), ensuring compliance with Puerto Rico’s employment regulations without requiring a local entity.

We manage payroll, social security, and benefits like paid time off, so you can lead teams in San Juan seamlessly. Our platform provides an efficient and compliant hiring process.

• Quick, compliant hiring.
• Payroll in USD, fully managed.
• Local wage and tax guidance.
• Seamless scaling within Puerto Rico.

Employer costs include Federal Insurance Contribution Act (FICA) Social Security and Medicare, Unemployment Tax (FUTA and SUTA), and Workers' Compensation Insurance. Use the OmniCalculator to estimate costs, or contact us for further information.

The rate of personal taxation varies depending on the income tax bracket the individual belongs to. This ranges between 0% - 33%.

Employee contributions include Federal Insurance Contribution Act (FICA) Social Security and Medicare, and Unemployment Tax (FUTA and SUTA).

A standard workday consists of 8 hours, while a regular workweek comprises 40 hours.

Meal Breaks 

For employees covered by federal law 

For employees working ≤ 6 hours a day, no meal break is needed.

For employees working 6-10 hours a day, employees cannot work more than 5 consecutive hours without a meal period. Meal periods should be ≥ 1 hour. 

For employees working 10-12 hours a day, employees are entitled to 2 meal periods. The employer is required to provide a 2nd meal period if the employee did not take the 1st meal period. Meal periods should be ≥ 1 hour. 

For employees working >12 hours a day, employees are entitled to 2 meal periods. Meal periods should be ≥ 1 hour. 

Day of rest 

For employees covered by federal law 

For employees who work 6 consecutive days → entitled to 1 day of rest. 

Consequence of non-compliance: 

• For employees hired before 26 January 2017 → 2x regular rate

• For normal employees hired after 26 January 2017 → 1.5x regular rate 

• For student employees (i.e. enrolled in high education or above) hired after 10 July 2022 (for normal enterprises) or after 18 September 2022 (for micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises)→ 2x regular rate for normal-sized businesses; 1.5x regular rate for medium-, small- or micro-businesses 

For employees covered by federal law 

Two types of working schedules can be arranged: 5-day or 4-day work schedule. 

For 5-day work schedules (default if there is no agreement to the contrary), overtime means:  

• In excess of 40 hours per week OR 

• 8 hours in any calendar day OR

• Working during meal breaks (see working hours for details about meal breaks) OR 

• The hours in excess of the maximum set by the collective bargaining agreement

Overtime payment

• For employees hired before 26 January 2017 → 2x regular rate

• For employees hired after 26 January 2017 → 1.5x regular rate  

For 4-day work schedules (i.e. where an employer and employee agree in writing to establish a working week, in which the employee works 10 hours for 4 days each week), overtime means: 

• Working in excess of 10 hours per day OR 

• Working during meal breaks OR 

• The hours in excess of the maximum set by the collective bargaining agreement

Exception: employer does not need to pay overtime if the following conditions are met. 

• The employee took leave for personal reasons on the week, and the employee is making up for time lost on the same week; 

• The employee does not work more than 12 hours per day; AND 

• The employee does not work more than 40 hours per week 

The minimum accrual of paid sick leave for each month:

• 1 day, in which the employee worked at least 115 hours

• 0.5 day, in which the employee worked for 20-115 hours 

Annual leave starts to accrue once the employee starts employment with the employer, i.e., probation periods should not affect such accrual. Annual leave depends on number of employees of the employer and length of service ranging between 0.25 to 1.25 days accrued per month.

For employees terminated after 10 July 2022 (for normal enterprises) or after 18 September 2022 (for micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises), severance pay equals: 

• 0-15 years of service = 3 months’ salary (severance pay) + 2 weeks’ salary (progressive indemnity) for each year of service 

• Over 15 years of service = 6 months’ salary (severance pay) + 3 weeks’ salary (progressive indemnity) for each year of service 

For termination of indefinite term contracts, there must be just cause. For termination of fixed term contracts there is no need to terminate for just cause.