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Judge Highlights Negligence, Constant Risk, and Lack of Effective Preventive Measures in Activity Exposing Worker to Daily Fear and Psychological Trauma that Goes Beyond the Work Environment
Being a mail carrier has historically been synonymous with trust, routine, and daily contact with the community. However, for a worker hired in 2013 as a postal agent, this routine turned into a series of traumatic episodes marked by violence, serious threats, and a fear difficult to erase from memory. In less than three years of service, he was a victim of 15 robberies while delivering mail and packages on the city’s streets. A situation that, according to the professional himself, turned each workday into a field of uncertainties.
Over time, the disorder ceased to be merely operational and became psychological. The worker reported that the robberies caused emotional traumas that are hard to forget, directly impacting his mental health and relationship with work. Moreover, he stated that, even in the face of repeated occurrences, the Brazilian Postal and Telegraph Company (EBCT) did nothing to alleviate the situation — a central argument of his lawsuit, in which he requested compensation for moral damages.
Labor Judge Recognizes Corporate Negligence and Sets Compensation
The information was disclosed by the Regional Labor Court of the 1st Region (RJ). The case was initially analyzed by the 3rd Labor Court of Duque de Caxias, where Judge Claúdio Victor de Castro Freitas understood that the mail carrier’s request was valid and set the amount of the compensation at R$ 40,000.00. For the magistrate, it was clear that the employer did not take any concrete action to reduce or prevent robberies, leaving the worker with the entire risk of his activity.
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In the first-degree decision, the judge emphasized that the omission was evident, resulting in an unsafe and unpredictable environment in which the professional worked exposed, vulnerable, and without support while performing an essential activity for the population. Dissatisfied with the ruling, the company appealed.
However, the appeal did not change the scenario. The 1st Panel of the TRT of the 1st Region upheld the conviction unanimously. The vote that consolidated the decision came from reporting judge Maria Helena Motta, who reinforced key points of the case.
Risk of the Activity Creates Objective Responsibility for the Employer
According to the reporting judge, it is proven that the mail carrier was a victim of five robberies recognized by the company, some of them under the threat of a firearm. The magistrate highlighted an important understanding:
“The fact that public safety is a duty of the State does not exempt the employer from adopting measures and efforts to protect its employees.”
With this statement, the reporting judge substantiated the employer’s objective responsibility — based on the sole paragraph of Article 927 of the Civil Code — especially when the activity presents inherent and foreseeable risk, as is the case with delivery routes.
Thus, the panel considered the amount of R$ 40,000.00 appropriate, taking into account the recurrence of the robberies, the severity of the facts, and the economic capacity of the company. The decision also reinforced that, in such situations, moral damage is presumed, as it goes beyond mere inconvenience and reaches the psychological and emotional realm.
Additionally, the TRT reiterated that the legal framework allows those involved to appeal the decisions as provided for in Article 893 of the CLT. But, in this case, the outcome was established as a relevant precedent in the protection of workers exposed to habitual risk.
Pelo amor de Deus… quem tem que pagar é o Estado que é responsável pela segurança. Esse judiciário nosso tá cada dia pior.