DOMINICAN REPUBLIC Law and Practice Contributed by: Carlos Hernández Contreras, Hernández Contreras & Herrera
2.2 Non-Solicits Such clauses are rare. There are also no legal prec - edents that could serve as guidance. Furthermore, there are no provisions on this matter in the Labor Code or its supplementary regulations. 3. Data Privacy 3.1 Data Privacy Law and Employment The law provides the “Prohibition on the use of data. No private entity may collect, capture, process and use biometric data of a person or a client, unless the following conditions are met: 1) It informs the person, in writing or by electronic means, that his biometric data is being collected or stored; 2) It informs the per - son, in writing or by means, of the specific purpose and duration of the term for which his biometric data is being collected, stored and used; 3) The person grants his explicit, free, specific, informed and unequivocal consent to the processing of such biometric data.” This means that the company that uses or intends to use telematic means that store biometric data of employees must obtain prior written consent from the employee. The same law grants a term of 60 days to eliminate the biometric database or, failing that, to obtain the employee’s consent. 80% of the workers in a company must be Dominican, and at least 80% of the total salaries paid by employ - ers must be received by Dominican workers. Foreign technical workers providing management and admin - istrative services are exempt from these provisions. 4.2 Registration Requirements for Foreign Workers 80% of the workers in a company must be Dominican, and at least 80% of the total salaries paid by employ - ers must be received by Dominican workers. Foreign technical workers providing management and admin - istrative services are exempt from these provisions. 4. Foreign Workers 4.1 Limitations on Foreign Workers
The process for hiring foreigners usually begins with a letter of employment offer, which is given to the can - didate, who must then return to their country of ori - gin and go to the Dominican embassy, which, based on that letter of offer, will issue an NM1 visa (which always precedes the work visa). Once they have this visa, the employee returns to the Dominican Republic, where the General Directo - rate of Migration (DGM) will issue a work visa or RT-3 visa, subject to a series of conditions and formalities required by the DGM on the one hand and the MT on the other. Basically, among other things, the signing of a writ - ten employment contract, medical examinations, and evidence of the company’s good standing with the MT through SIRLA (the digital platform – Planilla del personal fijo ) are required. At the same time, the following practices are highly frequent. • If the relationship has just begun or has already been in place for some time, it is advisable to con - tract health and work accident insurance for the immigrant employee, through a private insurance company with coverage as similar as possible to the Family Health Insurance and the Labor Risks Insurance of Law 87-01, on Social Security. • As for the payment of remuneration, if the com - pany or employer operates informally, it will have no major inconvenience in paying the immigrant employee. • However, if the company is formalised in DGII, TSS and MT, it will be impossible to pay the immigrant as an employee. The best thing to do is to pay and deduct taxes as independent services, until their employee status is regularised. • When the person is already in the country with the NM1 visa (which is different from the tourist visa, which means that a job offer has already been made) he/she can start working immediately, while the residence card is being processed (which takes about four months), and there are two ways to formalise his/her hiring. (a) The first is to register with the Social Secu - rity Treasury. However, this affiliation is only
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