10.6092/issn.1561-8048/10799
Panamanian authorities acted quickly to address expected public health and workplace effects of the pandemic before the country saw its first confirmed case of COVID-19. Panama’s National Assembly enacted legislation to allow telework and the labor ministry issued a Circular on February 27, 2020 to provide guidance to employers and workers on how to prevent infection from COVID-19 in the workplace, followed by several Decrees establishing guidelines to deal with the impact of the pandemic on workplaces. The government of Panama issued a national-level state of emergency declaration on March 13, 2020. In addition to public health and workplace measures adopted in short succession in March 2020, the Panamanian government adopted a financial aid package to mitigate the economic impact of the pandemic.
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Tequila J. Brooks
Italian Labour Law e-Journal
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COVID-19 and Labour Law: Panama
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2020-04-15
2020-04-14
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Tequila J. Brooks
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10.6092/issn.1561-8048/10799
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COVID-19 and Labour Law: Panama
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COVID-19 and Labour Law: Panama                                                         Italian Labour Law e-Journal
Tequila J. Brooks                                                                      Special Issue 1, Vol. 13 (2020)
Tequila.J.Brooks@gmail.com                                               Covid-19 and Labour Law. A Global Review
                                                                                                     ISSN 1561-8048
                                                                      https://doi.org/10.6092/issn.1561-8048/10799




                   COVID-19 and Labour Law: Panama
                          Tequila J. Brooks*

                                                     Abstract
     Panamanian authorities acted quickly to address expected public health and workplace effects
     of the pandemic before the country saw its first confirmed case of COVID-19. Panama’s
     National Assembly enacted legislation to allow telework and the labor ministry issued a
     Circular on February 27, 2020 to provide guidance to employers and workers on how to
     prevent infection from COVID-19 in the workplace, followed by several Decrees establishing
     guidelines to deal with the impact of the pandemic on workplaces. The government of Panama
     issued a national-level state of emergency declaration on March 13, 2020. In addition to public
     health and workplace measures adopted in short succession in March 2020, the Panamanian
     government adopted a financial aid package to mitigate the economic impact of the pandemic.

     Keywords: Covid-19; Labour Law; Telework; Informal Sector




     As of April 12, 2020, there were 3,234 COVID-19 cases and 79 deaths in Panama1. The
 first COVID-19 case was confirmed on March 9, 2020. The first death from the virus was
 on March 10, 20202. The Government of Panama issued a national-level state of
 emergency declaration on March 13, 2020 – just two days after the World Health
 Organization declared a global pandemic3. On March 19, 2020, the Panama Canal
 Authority announced that one of its employees had tested positive for COVID-194. Four
 passengers died on a cruise ship before it was finally granted permission to pass through
 the Panama Canal on its way back to Florida5.


 *
   Attorney and Comparative Labor Law Scholar, Washington, DC, ORCID 0000-0003-0363-8096.
 1 RT Actualidad. Panamá registra un total de 3.234 casos de coronavirus y el número de muertes se eleva a 79.
 12 April 2020.. https://actualidad.rt.com/actualidad/349629-panama-registra-total-casos.
 2 BBC News Mundo. Coronavirus: Panamá reporta la primera muerte por covid-19 en Centroamérica y eleva

 a 8 el número de casos confirmados. 11 March 2020. https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-america-latina-
 51812612.
 3 Resolución de Gabinete No. 11 de 13 de marzo de 2020 – Que declara el Estado de Emergencia Nacional y

 dicta otras disposiciones – Consejo de Gabinete. https://www.mitradel.gob.pa/decretos-y-resoluciones-en-
 materia-laboral-por-covid-19/resolucion-de-gabinete-no-11-de-13-de-marzo-de-2020-que-declara-el-estado-
 de-emergencia-nacional-y-dicta-otras-disposiciones-consejo-de-gabinete/.
 4 Cajar B. J. A., Coronavirus en el Canal de Panamá, primer paciente de Covid-19, in La Estrella de Panamá. 19 March

 2020. laestrella.com.pa/nacional/200319/coronavirus-canal-panama-primer-paciente-covid-19-confirmado.
 5 Moreno E., Graham D., Coronavirus-hit ship granted permission to pass through Panama Canal, in Reuters World

 News. 28 March 2020. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-cruise-zaandam/coronavirus-
 hit-ship-granted-permission-to-pass-through-panama-canal-idUSKBN21F0WG.
    Tequila J. Brooks                                                           Italian Labour Law e-Journal
                                                                               Special Issue 1, Vol. 13 (2020)
                                                                  Covid-19 and Labour Law. A Global Review
                                                                                    Section: National Reports




   The Panamanian government placed the country under full quarantine for 15 days on
April 1, 2020, taking measures to allow only 50% of the population to be outside their
homes at any given time (women on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays and men on
Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays)6. On April 11, 2020, the National Assembly enacted
Law No. 143 which allows the legislative body to conduct sessions virtually7.
   Panamanian health and labor authorities began to take action to curb the spread of
COVID-19 weeks before the country’s first case was confirmed. Panamanian health
authorities initiated rapid diagnostic testing, dispatching 25 diagnostic testing teams
throughout the country – including in remote and indigenous communities8. Legislative
and executive authorities acted quickly to adapt Panama’s legal framework to address
workplace issues expected to arise as a result the pandemic. One early action taken by the
National Assembly was to adopt Law No. 126 allowing telework in Panama9.
   On February 27, 2020, MINSA and Panama’s labor ministry MITRADEL issued a
Circular to all employers and workers identifying members of the workforce most at risk of
contracting COVID-19 and suggesting actions like hand-washing and establishing channels
for communicating possible COVID-19 infections10. On March 16, 2020, MITRADEL
Executive Decree No. 78 adopted workplace measures to prevent COVID-19 contagion11.
Some of the protective measures adopted include allowing pregnant workers, workers with
chronic illnesses, and workers aged 70 and above to utilize vacation time before it has
accrued to remain at home or under quarantine12. Executive Decree No. 78 also requires
employers to inform workers about the option of teleworking under Law No. 126.
   On March 20, 2020, MITRADEL adopted Executive Decree No. 81, which establishes
guidelines for the temporary suspension of labor contracts as a result of workplace closures
due to the pandemic13. In order to temporarily suspend individual labor contracts,
employers must request authorization and submit documentation to MITRADEL, which
will inform the union or worker representatives of the request14. Workers whose labor

6 MINSA. Communicado No.35 Gobierno Nacional aplica nuevas reglas de movilidad para disminuir
contagios por COVID-19. http://www.minsa.gob.pa/noticia/comunicado-no35-gobierno-nacional-aplica-
nuevas-reglas-de-movilidad-para-disminuir-contagios.
7 Ley 143 de 11 de abril de 2020. Que modifica y adiciona articulos a la Ley 49 de 1984, que dicta el

Reglamento Orgánico del Régimen Interno de la Asamblea Nacional.
https://www.gacetaoficial.gob.pa/pdfTemp/29000/GacetaNo_29000_20200411.pdf.
8 Barral B.. Panamá va un paso por delante en la respuesta al coronavirus, in Noticias ONU. 19 March 2020.

https://news.un.org/es/story/2020/03/1471462.
9 Ley No. 126 de 18 de febrero 2020. Que establece y regula el teletrabajo en la República de Panamá y

modifica un artículo del Codigo de Trabajo. https://www.mitradel.gob.pa/decretos-y-resoluciones-en-
materia-laboral-por-covid-19/ley-126-de-18-de-febrero-de-2020-teletrabajo-asamblea-nacional/.
10 Circular de 27 febrero 2020 – COVID-19 – Mitradel – Minsa. https://www.mitradel.gob.pa/decretos-y-

resoluciones-en-materia-laboral-por-covid-19/circular-de-27-febrero-2020-covid-19-mitradel-minsa/.
11 Ministerio de Trabajo y Desarrollo Laboral (Mitradel) Decreto Ejecutivo No. 78 del 16 de marzo de 2020.

Que establece medidas de character laboral para evitar contagion del COVID-19 en las empresas del país.
https://www.mitradel.gob.pa/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Decreto-Ejecutivo-78-Normas-laborales-
privadas.pdf.
12 Decreto No. 78, Arts. 2-4.
13 Decreto Ejecutivo No. 81 de 20 de marzo de 2020 – Suspension de Contratos -Mitradel.

https://www.mitradel.gob.pa/decretos-y-resoluciones-en-materia-laboral-por-covid-19/decreto-ejecutivo-no-
81-de-20-de-marzo-de-2020-suspension-de-contratos-mitradel/.
14 Decreto No. 81, Arts. 2-6.



https://doi.org/10.6092/issn.1561-8048/10799                                                                 2
     Tequila J. Brooks                                                          Italian Labour Law e-Journal
                                                                               Special Issue 1, Vol. 13 (2020)
                                                                  Covid-19 and Labour Law. A Global Review
                                                                                    Section: National Reports




contracts have been temporarily suspended are eligible for financial assistance from the
government15.
    In addition to adopting measures to address the health and workplace effects of the
COVID-19 pandemic, the Panamanian government enacted the Panama Solidarity Plan
(PPS - Plan Panamá Solidario) under Executive Decree No. 400 on March 27, 2020. PPS is
designed to address the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the
closure of businesses and temporary suspension of labor contracts16, Executive Decree No.
400 expressly covers persons working in the informal sector. Unemployed persons are also
eligible for assistance, even if they did not lose their jobs as a result of the pandemic.
    The purpose of PPS is to preserve not only the health of the populace, but to maintain
decent jobs in Panama. This purpose is to be achieved through provision of food, hygiene
and medical supplies, and financial assistance to eligible persons in Panama. Persons
eligible for assistance under PPS include those suffering from multidimensional poverty,
vulnerable families, people who live in difficult-to-access zones, and persons engaged in
economic activity on their own account17. Public servants, workers who continue to remain
actively employed, retirees and pensioners, and persons whose most recent declared
income is 11,000.00 balboas or above are not eligible for financial assistance under PPS.18
According to the Panamanian social development ministry MIDES, food assistance was
delivered to over 55,000 families during the first weekend of April19.




Copyright © 2020 Tequila J. Brooks. This article is released under a Creative Commons
Attribution 4.0 International License




15 Decreto No. 81, Art. 5.
16 Decreto Ejecutivo No. 400 de 27 de marzo de 2020. Que crea el Plan Panamá Solidario.
https://www.gacetaoficial.gob.pa/pdfTemp/28995_A/GacetaNo_28995a_20200403.pdf, p.8 et seq).
17 Decreto Executivo No. 400, Art. 4.
18
   Decreto Executivo No. 400, Art. 5.
19 Ministerio de Desarrollo Social. Plan Panamá Solidario llega a 55 mil familias de 12 corregimientos de

Panamá Centro. 4 April 2020. https://www.mides.gob.pa/plan-panama-solidario-llega-a-55-mil-familias-de-
12-corregimientos-de-panama-centro/.

https://doi.org/10.6092/issn.1561-8048/10799                                                                 3
