Standard covers rights frozen between 2020 and 2021, such as annual fees and licenses; Release of funds is not automatic and depends on each entity’s budget
President Luiz Inácio da Silva sanctioned the law that authorizes the retroactive payment to employees of the Union, states, and municipalities, of remuneration rights – such as annual, three-year, five-year, sixth-part and bonus leave – that had been frozen due to the covid-19 pandemic.
The law was published this Tuesday (13) in the Official Gazette of the Union and establishes that payments are related to the period between May 28, 2020 and December 31, 2021. According to the rule, benefits will be paid as long as the federative entity has declared a state of public calamity at the time of the pandemic and has an available budget.
In a note, Palácio do Planalto reinforced that the budgetary availability of the Union, states, Federal District and municipalities must be respected and highlighted that the rule has an authoritative nature, that is, it allows each federative entity to decide, autonomously and through its own law, on the retroactive payment of the personal benefits in question.
“During the period of the emergency regime, legislation prevented the granting of these advantages and the counting of the time needed to acquire them, as a way of controlling public spending. With the end of the state of health emergency, the proposal seeks to correct the impacts of these restrictions and return the autonomy to the federative entities to decide on the issue”, explains the statement.
Also according to Palácio do Planalto, from a fiscal point of view, the law does not generate automatic expenses nor does it require immediate payments. “Any recomposition is subject to the availability of resources in the budget, the estimate of financial impact and authorization in the Budget Guidelines Law”.
“The rule also prevents the transfer of costs to another entity, such as the Union, preserving fiscal responsibility and public resources”, says Planalto.
Understand
The rule originated in Complementary Bill 143/2020, authored by senator Professor Dorinha Seabra (União-TO), approved at the end of December 2025 with a favorable report from senator Flávio Arns (PSB-PR).
During the vote on the matter in the plenary, Arns recalled that the measure does not create any additional expenses, since the amount would already be foreseen in the Budget. For the senator, Complementary Law 173 of 2020 imposed severe restrictions on the counting of time for functional advantages with the aim of containing public spending in a time of crisis.
Senator Professor Dorinha Seabra (União-TO; left), Senator Flávio Arns (PSB-PR; center) and Senator Soraya Santos (PL-RJ; right)
Such restrictions, in the parliamentarian’s assessment, although justified in the emergency context of covid-19, ended up producing lasting losses for civil servants, who continued to perform their duties, often under difficult conditions, without being able to enjoy rights that would normally result from time of service.
For Arns, the new law “reestablishes this balance, recognizing the effort and work provided, without breaking the logic of fiscal responsibility”.
The senator changed the original text of the project to replace the expression “public servants” with “staff”, that is, the change will apply to permanent public servants and public employees hired through the CLT.
*With information from Agência Brasil and Agência Senado
Published by Nícolas Robert
