High court upholds advocate’s powers to impose fines for gender discrimination

Women’s Advocate Astrid Piñeiro Vázquez

By THE STAR STAFF

Women’s Advocate Astrid Piñeiro Vázquez announced a legal victory on Thursday after the Puerto Rico Supreme Court upheld the authority of the Office of the Women’s Advocate (OPM by its initials in Spanish) to investigate, oversee and impose administrative fines in cases involving labor rights violations and gender-based discrimination in both public agencies and private entities.

The ruling, issued in case CC-2025-0009, stemmed from an OPM investigation launched on behalf of a pregnant worker who claimed she was removed from her job after informing her employer of her pregnancy. The Supreme Court’s decision reaffirms that the OPM holds the legal power to enforce the commonwealth’s public policy on gender equality and workplace protections.

Piñeiro Vázquez emphasized that the decision strengthens the office’s mandate to ensure women’s rights are protected across all sectors.

“With this ruling, the Supreme Court recognizes that the OPM has the authority to monitor, investigate, and impose fines on government agencies and private organizations that violate public policy or infringe upon the rights of women as guaranteed by the Constitution and the laws of Puerto Rico,” she said.

The case highlights the administration’s broader commitment under Gov. Jenniffer González Colón to promote women’s economic empowerment and dismantle systemic barriers that limit women’s full participation in the workforce.

Piñeiro Vázquez added that the OPM’s enabling statute grants the office a clear mandate extending to “any association, organization, institute, or natural or legal person in [or for] which a woman works,” ensuring that the reach of justice extends to all workplaces.

“We will not allow the OPM to be made ineffective in an area as impactful as labor rights,” she said. “Stripping our investigative powers would contradict legislative intent and the public policy that inspired the office’s creation. Today, we reaffirm that the OPM has full authority to order corrective actions against any individual or entity that denies, obstructs, violates, or harms the rights and benefits of women.”