In a case examined by the 9th Panel of the Regional Labor Court of the 3rd Region (TRT-MG) the claimant alleged that each employee had a number on their shirts and when the defendant needed to call the workers, it called them by numbers in a totally impersonal way.

Examining the case, the superior court judge Luiz Fernando Gonçalves Rios Neto noted that the witnesses heard confirmed the treatment by numbers. According to the reporting judge, although the numbers are part of our lives, they should only be added to other data to assist the identification of the person, and may not be used to make impossible the individualization within the group.

The judge also noted that, especially in the workplace, where the person stands to receive not only salary but also to exchange experiences and acknowledgement, the objectification may not happen.

It may not be taken from the worker what identifies him/her to itself and grants him/her the basic dignity, which is his/her legal name, especially because the Federal Constitution guarantees the employee a healthy work environment, which shall be guaranteed by the employer.

For this reason, the judge upheld the decision and sentenced the defendant to the payment of indemnification for moral damages in the amount of R$ 3,000.00.

Case No. RO 0001552-23.2011.5.03.0093

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