You are Rafael Mascarenhas-Pereira, 44, COO of Aroma Express, a São Paulo-based last-mile food and grocery delivery platform. The TST ruled yesterday that 12% of your riders must be reclassified as CLT employees. The federal Marco do Trabalho de Aplicativos bill is on the Câmara floor in 19 days. The board calls Tuesday.
The situation
Aroma Express operates in 14 Brazilian metros with 38,000 active riders and 2,100 employees on the platform-and-restaurant side. The rider base has been on the "PJ-rider" model (autonomous-contractor, Pessoa Jurídica) since 2020. Last quarter's revenue was R$ 720M; EBITDA-margin a still-thin 4.8%. The model's unit economics depend on a flexible rider pool that scales with peak demand.
The TST decision yesterday — a class action brought by a riders' association, decided 6-3 — held that riders who work more than 30 hours/week through the platform "predominantly" and accept the platform's algorithmic dispatch are in a relationship of subordination consistent with CLT employment, regardless of the PJ formality. The order applies immediately to 4,560 named riders (~12% of the base) and is referenced in the pending federal bill, which would extend the rule to all "habitual" platform workers (no firm definition yet, but the staff text draws the line at 25 hours/week, ~31% of the base). Industry-wide cost of full CLT reclassification: estimated +38% to +47% per rider-hour, depending on benefits package.
CEO Roberta Aldecoa-Macedo has asked for your recommendation by Sunday night. The board meets Tuesday; the quarterly results call is Friday. The legal team is split: the General Counsel wants to appeal everything, the Head of External Affairs wants a pre-emptive program. Your operations team wants neither — they want clarity on the rider supply for the December peak.