Mato Grosso court convicts pregnant worker for using false medical certificates

A labor court in Mato Grosso has convicted a pregnant worker for presenting five falsified medical certificates to justify absences from her job. The worker, who was employed by a cleaning outsourcing company serving municipal schools, had been dismissed for cause in late 2025.

In her legal appeal, the former employee claimed her dismissal was unjust and argued she was entitled to provisional stability due to her pregnancy. She requested compensation, severance pay, and unemployment benefits, asserting her absences were necessary for prenatal care. However, Judge Juliano Girardello of the 5th Labor Court of Cuiabá ruled that the serious misconduct was ‘robustly proven.’

As a result of the ruling, the worker was convicted of bad faith litigation and ordered to pay the company 9.9% of the case value. The court upheld the dismissal for cause, noting that the gravity of the fraudulent acts broke the necessary trust for the employment contract and negated pregnancy-related job stability.