Judge Guilherme Mayer Amin, from the 8th Labor Court of Curitiba, ordered councilor Guilherme Kilter (Novo) to remove from his social networks content that encourages the dismissal of workers due to the vote for President Lula (PT), re-elected at the polls on October 25th. In case of non-compliance, the fine will be R$50,000.
The preliminary decision was signed this Wednesday (11) in the context of a public civil action proposed by the Public Ministry of Labor. According to the judge, the parliamentarian "directly encourages discrimination for reasons of political conviction, conduct expressly prohibited by the Constitution of Brazil."
Elected federal deputy for Paraná on October 4 with the second highest vote on the bench, Kilter stated in a statement that, when notified of the court decision, his defense will adopt the appropriate legal measures to reverse it.
"The truth is that the Labor Court does not have the competence to judge this case: I am not an employer nor do I have a working relationship with anyone. The decision also violates freedom of expression, guaranteed by the Constitution to all citizens, including parliamentarians", continues the note.
After the results of the presidential elections, Kilter narrated on his profile on
"Two days after Lula's election, it seems to me that the 'fire a PT' movement is stronger than ever, and not without reason. The biggest crisis in Brazil's history is knocking on the door and businesspeople need to plan," Kilter said in a video.
"If you need to cut expenses or restructure your company, start with the PT members", continued the councilor.
On October 27, the Public Ministry of Labor issued a recommendation that Kilter publish a retraction, which did not occur.
In this Wednesday's injunction, in addition to ordering the removal of the content under penalty of fine, the judge obliges the parliamentarian to publish a statement on his social networks, for a minimum period of ten days, to inform that there was a court decision and that "all workers have the right to freely choose their candidates in the elections, regardless of party or political orientation, and it is prohibited for business owners or service providers to adopt any measure of retaliation for the electoral choice of their workers, including threat or loss of employment".
At 24 years old, Kilter is the youngest councilor in the current legislature of the Curitiba Chamber, where he is serving his first term. He was elected with the support of former public prosecutor Deltan Dallagnol (Novo) and members of the First Baptist Church of Curitiba.
He presents himself as a right-wing councilor, who works "in defense of quality education without ideology, public security and the defense of the traditional family."
In a case similar to that of Kilter, another Labor judge in Paraná ordered the extinction of the public civil action filed against Londrina councilor and elected state deputy Jéssica Ramos Moreno (PL), known as Jessicão, for electoral harassment.
She also used social media after the second round of the presidential elections to encourage the dismissal of workers who would have voted for President Lula. But, for judge Daniel Pereira, from the 8th Labor Court of Londrina, the case falls under the jurisdiction of the common courts, and not the Labor Court.
In Kilter's case, the judge states in his order that "illegality does not depend on whether an employer has actually responded to the call", since the message "produces an immediate intimidating effect, as it leads workers to fear for their job due to a choice protected by the secrecy of the vote, and creates a concrete risk of dismissals and denial of admission".
Amin also states that the parliamentarian's conduct undermines democracy itself and recalls that voting is only free when voters "can choose their representatives without fear of suffering reprisals."
"By encouraging the employer's economic power to be used to punish the worker for his electoral choice, the defendant transforms the employment contract into an instrument of political control, intimidates voters for future elections and undermines political pluralism, as he intends to exclude from the labor market a portion of the population that thinks differently than him", writes the judge.
