Title Second: Employment Contract or Service Lease

Article 644

The contract of labor or hiring of services is governed by the general provisions of articles 624 and following and by those of the articles hereafter.

Article 645

Art. 645 - When the service provider resides in the employer's house, the latter must cover the expenses of necessary care for a period of twenty days in the event of illness or accident befalling the service provider, provided that such accidents or illnesses are not caused by the fault of the service provider.

Article 646

Art. 646 - The employer is exempt from the obligation established in the preceding article when the service provider can receive the necessary care from a mutual aid association of which he is a member, the insurance company with which he is insured, or through public assistance.

Article 647

The master or employer, and generally any employer, is required: 1 - to ensure that the workshops, rooms, and generally all premises which he provides to his workers, employees, or servants for the execution of the hiring of labor, present all the necessary conditions of safety and healthfulness; 2 - to ensure that the apparatus, machines, instruments and generally all other objects which he provides to his workers, employees or servants, for the execution of the hiring of labor, do not create any danger to the life or health of the latter other than that which may be inherent in the normal execution of the work; 3 - to take all measures made necessary by the nature of the work and the circumstances in which it is accomplished, for the protection of the life and health of the workers, employees or servants, in the accomplishment of the tasks which they execute under his direction and on his own account. The master or employer is liable for any violation of the provisions of this article.

Article 648

Art. 648 - The employer or master is also liable for accidents or disasters of which the worker is a victim, in the execution of the work entrusted to him, when the accident or disaster is caused by the violation or non-observance by the employer of the special regulations relating to the exercise of his trade, industry, or profession.

Article 649

In the cases provided for in the two preceding articles, the indemnity may be reduced if the accident was caused by the fault or negligence of the victim.

Article 650

Art. 650 - All agreements or stipulations having as their object the exclusion or limitation of liability resulting, for masters, employers or bosses, from the provisions of the above articles, are null and void, of absolute nullity.

Article 651

The hiring of labor or services ends upon the expiration of the period fixed by the parties. When upon this expiration, the lessor continues the work or provision of services without objection from the other party, the contract, if it was made for a period of one year or less or a shorter period must be deemed renewed by tacit relocation, for the same period; it must be deemed renewed for one year, if it had been made for a longer time. When the contract is made by the month, it is only deemed renewed for one month. When formal notice has been given, the continuation of work or services does not imply tacit renewal.

Article 652

1. The lease period may be modified if it is not specified in the contract and cannot be inferred from the nature of the work to be performed. In this case, either party may request to cease work, provided that they notify the other party in advance. The notice period shall be one month if the contract has been in effect for a period of three years or less, and two months if the contract has been in effect for a period exceeding three years.

Article 653

Art. 653 - Unless local custom or an agreement to the contrary applies, when the lessor has engaged as a worker or domestic servant, shop or store clerk, or establishment employee, the first fifteen days are considered a trial period, during which either party may cancel the contract at will and without compensation, except for the payment of the salary due to the lessor and provided that two days' notice is given.

Article 654

Art. 654 - In a contract for labor or services, termination is a matter of right for either party when the other fails to fulfill its obligations. Termination may also be decreed by the court at the request of either party for other serious grounds.

Article 655

The master or employer has the right to terminate the contract due to illness or injuries suffered by the lessor and which prevent the satisfactory performance by him of his obligations, by paying what is due to the lessor proportionally to the duration of his service.

Article 656

Amended. If the termination of the contract originates from the employer and is not caused by breach of the contract obligations or fault committed by the employee, then the employee is entitled to compensation equal to one month salary for each year of service, beginning from the first five years