Brazil’s Federal Supreme Court (STF) unanimously decided on Wednesday (23) to equalize maternity and adoption leave periods for women. Justices upheld a lawsuit filed by the Attorney General’s Office (PGR) seeking to standardize the benefit, which previously differed between private-sector workers, civil servants and adoptive mothers.
What changes in practice
Under the Court’s ruling, biological and adoptive mothers now have the right to 180 days of paid leave — 120 days of leave plus a 60-day extension — regardless of employment type. The period is counted from birth or from when custody is granted; in cases of hospitalization, the count begins once the mother or baby is discharged, whichever comes last. The new rule applies to both future leaves and those already underway.
Before the ruling, Brazil’s labor code already guaranteed 120 days to biological and adoptive mothers, extendable by 60 days at companies enrolled in the Citizen Company Program. Female civil servants had 120 days as biological mothers, but adoptive civil servants were limited to 90 — and, within the Public Prosecutor’s Office, adoption leave was as short as 30 days.
How the ruling unfolded
Case rapporteur Justice Alexandre de Moraes argued that leave periods exist to build affective bonds between mothers and children, and therefore should not vary by type. Justices Flávio Dino, Dias Toffoli and Cármen Lúcia followed his vote; in Wednesday’s session, Cristiano Zanin, André Mendonça, Nunes Marques, Luiz Fux and Gilmar Mendes also voted in favor, closing the ruling unanimously.
According to the federal government’s legal office (AGU), the measure extends the time for a woman’s recovery and for bonding with the baby, while bringing the leave closer to the six months of exclusive breastfeeding recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF.
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