Supreme Court revokes labor ruling that unilaterally multiplied an indemnity

Argentina's Supreme Court has intervened in a labor dispute, revoking a decision by a labor appeals court that had significantly inflated an employee's compensation. The original case involved an electrician, Sergio Pagani, who suffered a knee injury in 2017, resulting in a 5% permanent partial disability. Pagani challenged this assessment, arguing for a higher degree of incapacity. A lower court initially awarded him 240,585 pesos plus interest, recognizing a 16% disability.

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the Labor Chamber had violated the limit of its jurisdiction.

However, the labor appeals court, deeming the initial award insufficient and a violation of public order, dramatically increased the indemnity to over 1.6 million pesos plus interest. This escalation occurred despite the insurance company being the sole appellant and the worker not having requested such an increase. The appeals court argued that the awarded amount was less than 60% of the minimum for the claimant's disability level and that the minimum floor established by the tariff regime could not be breached.

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Contrary to what the defendant argued, I believe that the conviction in this case is not only insufficient but also violates norms of the clearest public order.

The Supreme Court, comprising justices Horacio Rosatti, Carlos Rosenkrantz, and Ricardo Lorenzetti, found that the labor court had overstepped its authority. They ruled that the appeals court had violated the principle of congruence, which dictates that a ruling should not place the appealing party in a worse situation than they were in the initial judgment, especially when the worker themselves had not appealed for a higher amount. The decision highlights the judicial scrutiny over how compensation amounts are calculated and the limits of judicial power in labor cases.

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the total amount, with interest, amounted to 994,405.27 pesos.