⚖️ Rising labor costs, rising suits

Brazilian companies paid BRL 50.7 billion (USD 9.93 billion) to settle, lose, or quietly close labor lawsuits in 2025, marking the first time the annual bill has exceeded BRL 50 billion, according to official data from the Superior Labor Court (TST). The record came with a companion: roughly 2.3 million new cases filed last year, up 8.7% from 2024 and the highest annual tally since the 2017 labor reform.

The cure did work, for a while. The 2017 overhaul of the CLT, Brazil's consolidated labor code, passed under President Michel Temer with a simple premise: suing an employer should be a decision, not a reflex. Its main lever was cost. Plaintiffs who lost would…

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