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Stop Sex Discrimination in Guatemalan Maquilas
Which Guatemalan laws are violated when companies discriminate on the basis of reproductive status?
Equality before the law
Article 4 of the Guatemalan Constitution guarantees that men and women are equal before the law, and that men and women have equal opportunities and responsibilities regardless of civil status.
Marital status
Article 102(k) of the Constitution prohibits differentiation between married and single women with respect to work, and guarantees pregnant workers an 84-day maternity leave with full pay, as well as two rest periods per day for breastfeeding upon return from leave.
Freedom from discrimination in the labor force
Article 151 of the Guatemalan labor code prohibits employers from specifying sex in job announcements, and from making any differentiation between single and married women and/or women with family responsibilities. The labor ministry interprets this article to prohibit pregnancy questioning and pregnancy testing as a condition for employment.
Maternity protections
Article 151 of the labor code prohibits the firing of pregnant or breastfeeding workers without special authorization from a judge, and prohibits requiring pregnant women to perform physically strenuous work in the last trimester of the pregnancy.
Article 152 of the labor code establishes an 84-day maternity leave (thirty days before and fifty-four after the birth) with 100 percent pay.
Article 153 of the labor code requires employers to allow new mothers to take two one-half hour breaks during the workday to breastfeed their babies in an appropriate place, or work one hour less to compensate. The hour is paid. This right takes effect when the worker returns from maternity leave and lasts a minimum of ten months.
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