The STF analyzes action that discusses rules for applying the law that established minimum remuneration for nurses, technicians, assistants and midwives
Minister Luiz Fux, from requested a review and suspended the virtual trial that discusses the application of the national nursing floor. The analysis, which was estimated to end on Friday (May 29, 2026), takes place in an action that questions the constitutionality of responsible for setting minimum remuneration for nurses, nursing technicians, nursing assistants and midwives.
With the request for review, the trial is interrupted again and there is no set date for it to be resumed. The process discusses the validity of the minimum wage and the conditions for its implementation, such as the workload used in the calculation, the scope of transfers from the Union to States and municipalities and the form of application for professionals hired by the CLT (Consolidation of Labor Laws).
The law established the minimum R$ 4.750 for nurses. Nursing technicians are entitled to 70% of this amount, while nursing assistants and midwives receive 50%. The rule was questioned in the Supreme Court by the National Confederation of Health, Hospitals and Establishments and Services.
The trial resumed on Friday (May 22) after a vote by minister Dias Toffoli, who partially differed from former minister Luís Roberto Barroso. Toffoli opened up disagreements over the scope of the Union’s additional financial assistance and how the minimum wage would be applied to CLT workers. Read at (180 — kB).
UNDERSTAND THE CASE
The action was filed against Law 14,434 of 2022, which amended Law 7,498 of 1986 to establish the national minimum wage for nursing.
In September 2022, Barroso suspended the application of the law until the impacts of the rule on the accounts of States and municipalities, the employability of the category and the quality of health services were assessed. The precautionary measure was endorsed by the STF plenary.
Then, in 2023, the Supreme Court authorized the partial application of the floor, but with different parameters depending on the professional’s employment relationship:
- for Union employees, local authorities and federal foundations, the minimum wage should be applied in accordance with the law;
- for employees of States, the Federal District, municipalities and private entities that serve at least 60% of patients through the SUS, implementation was subject to financial assistance from the Union;
- for CLT holders in general, the application of the minimum wage now depends on collective bargaining.
The plenary also decided, in a precautionary phase, that the minimum wage should be understood as global remuneration, and not necessarily as a base salary. This means that the minimum amount may include fixed, generic and permanent funds paid to the category.
