Employee wins damages for unauthorized use of her image

The Regional Labor Court of the 5th Region awarded R$ 5,000 in moral damages to a former employee whose image was used without authorization by her employer on social media for commercial purposes. The claimant, who worked as a snack bar attendant, alleged that her photos were shared without consent — including after the end of her employment contract. The company attempted to justify the use based on a generic clause in the employment contract, which the court deemed invalid.

The ruling emphasized that the right to one's image is protected by the Federal Constitution, the Civil Code, and the General Data Protection Law (LGPD). The court stressed that consent for the use of one's image must be express, specific, and accompanied by economic compensation. In this case, the contractual clause presented by the company failed to meet these requirements and was considered invalid for not ensuring the employee's free and unequivocal consent. The court noted that a generic authorization clause in an employment contract "is not sufficient to authorize the use of the employee's image on the employer's social media, particularly because it is an adhesion contract, executed without the employee's free expression of will and without the right to object."

Furthermore, the court found that the violation of the right to one's image constitutes moral damages in re ipsa — meaning no additional proof is required, as the unauthorized use itself is sufficient grounds for compensation. The commercial use of the images without any financial consideration was deemed abusive and contrary to the worker's personality rights.

The ruling also reinforced that employment contracts are considered adhesion contracts, which limits employees' ability to negotiate terms. Therefore, generic clauses regarding image use are insufficient to justify business practices that violate fundamental rights. The amount of damages was determined based on reasonableness and proportionality, taking into account factors such as the brief duration of employment and the company's financial standing.

This post was summarized from the original ruling using ChatGPT version 4o, with human review.

Source: TRT5/RO n. 0000352-95.2024.5.05.0019