On August 18, the 2nd Labor Court of Cariri, in northeastern Brazil, sentenced R&R Coisas do Forno, a small bakery based in Crato (Ceará state), and its owner, businesswoman Rita Eliane Santiago Pinheiro, to pay compensation for moral damages and all overdue labor rights for keeping a girl in child labor under conditions analogous to slavery. In an official statement, the company denied the accusations and claimed that “from the beginning, the relationship with the claimant was marked by care and affection.”
Luciana* was 10 years old when she started working. She left her grandmother’s home and moved in with her employers, the businesswoman and her husband. By day, she took care of the couple’s baby. At night, she worked at their family bakery. Her daily routine also included cooking, cleaning, and washing laundry.
For all that labor, the child was paid 30 reais a month (around US$ 6 at the time), an amount handed over to her grandmother, who – according to court documents – believed Luciana would be offered a better life by the family. Still a child, Luciana slept in a windowless room she shared with another girl in the back of the couple’s house.
“I worked from 6 a.m. until 10 p.m.,” she told BdF by phone. The newsroom contacted her after accessing the court ruling. “When the baby went to sleep, I’d head to the bakery to help the girls,” she recalled. Alongside other workers, Luciana would stay up baking into the early hours of the morning.
The abuse began in 1997, but only reached the courts in 2024, when Luciana, now 37, sought legal help to recover a single month’s salary. She no longer lived in her employers’ house but was still working for the family, receiving below-minimum wages.
When she missed three days of work to care for her own sick child, just one year old, the employers refused to pay her full wages. With the absences deducted, she was paid only 101 reais (approx. US$ 18). Encouraged by her husband, Luciana turned to human rights attorney Livia Nascimento, who holds a master’s degree in Human Rights from the Federal University of Paraíba (UFPB).
“She broke down crying as she remembered everything she had endured,” said the lawyer. “We explained that this wasn’t just a basic labor claim. This was a case of child exploitation under slavery-like conditions.”
Court ruling and compensation
In her ruling, Judge Giselle Bringel de Oliveira Lima David awarded 70,000 reais (approx. US$ 14,000) in moral damages for slavery-like child labor, and an additional 5,000 reais (about US$ 1,000) for lack of maternity protections, since Luciana was given no job security after having children.
Attorney Livia Nascimento is seeking total compensation of 336,955 reais (approx. US$ 65,000), including back pay. The defendant still has the right to appeal.
“Never the full salary”
Luciana originally arrived at the household to take care of the couple’s first baby. When a second child was born, she continued as a nanny, with even more tasks. Her three daily meals were deducted from her wages.
“First she paid me 5 dollars, then 110, then it went up to 500 dollars, but I never got a full wage,” she said. At 18, Luciana got married and moved out but continued to work at the bakery, still earning below-market wages. Evidence presented in court showed that in 2023 she earned 1,100 reais (about US$ 202), and in 2024, 1,200 reais (approx. US$ 220).
Brazil’s national minimum wage was US$ 240 (until April 30, 2023), then US$ 243 (from May 2023), and in 2024 it rose to US$ 259. “Therefore, the claimant’s wages were indeed below the legal minimum,” stated the judge.
Luciana worked from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday to Friday, with just five minutes for lunch. Saturdays were half-days, with no breaks. She was never granted paid leave, bonuses, social security contributions, or severance protections.
“Like she was family”
Luciana’s story contains every element of modern slavery: exhausting work hours, a maid’s quarters, lack of legal protections, and a common justification from employers, that she was “just like one of the family.”
The court strongly rejected this narrative. The judge noted that while the couple’s biological children attended school, Luciana wasn’t enrolled until age 15. “This disparity in treatment is a strong indication that the claimant was viewed and treated not as a family member, but as cheap and disposable labor,” wrote the judge.
Humiliation was also part of the routine. Luciana vividly remembers one night when the family was gathered in the backyard and the employer handed her a plate of food. “I took one bite, and everyone started laughing,” she said. “I asked why. He had cooked dog food mixed with rice for me.”
Her testimony was backed by photos, physical evidence, and other witnesses. “There was proof, pictures of me with them,” she said. “And burns on my arms from working near the ovens.” She had no protective equipment while handling hot trays. Other women who worked for the family testified that Luciana “had no fixed work hours and was always on call.”
“This employment relationship, both domestic and commercial, went far beyond the most basic standards of acceptable human treatment,” the judge wrote. “It created a life of degradation and dependency for someone who spent her entire existence serving one family, stripping her of dignity and fundamental rights from a very young age.”
“Justice for generations of Black women”
Attorney Livia Nascimento, who has spent more than a decade advocating for anti-discrimination in Brazilian courts, highlighted the historical significance of the ruling. “The legacy of a country built on power structures between white people and Black and Indigenous people still echoes today,” she said. “It results in the systemic precarity of these communities.”
According to a 2022 study by the Inter-Union Department of Statistics and Socioeconomic Studies (DIEESE), 92% of domestic workers in Brazil are women, and 65% of them are Black, like Luciana. Many leave their own families to raise the children of others. “That’s why this ruling is so important,” said Nascimento. “It acknowledges the structural exploitation and rights violations that persist to this day — and it punishes those responsible.”
Attorney Carlos Augusto Matos, who also worked on the case, added: “No amount of compensation can truly repair the physical and psychological harm caused, but this is a milestone victory worth celebrating.”
Employer denies charges
In a statement to BdF, the company R&R Coisas do Forno denied the accusations. Read the full response below:
In response to recent news reports regarding the labor lawsuit filed against R&R COISAS DO FORNO and its owner, both come forward to clarify the facts and strongly reject the accusations of child labor in conditions analogous to slavery.
From the outset, the relationship with the Claimant was marked by care and affection. In fact, the Claimant lived with the family for a period between 1997 and 1999, nearly 30 years ago, during which time she was treated with dignity, kindness, and mutual support. The relationship was never one of enslavement or violence, but of friendship and companionship, which continued over the years, with the Claimant returning to live and work with the family on different occasions as an adult.
It is important to reiterate that:
- The Claimant always had freedom of movement.
- Her access to education was never restricted.
- All services rendered were duly compensated.
Our family’s history has been built on hard work, honesty, and perseverance. We started from nothing, with humility, and today we are a small family business striving to grow fairly and transparently, upholding ethical standards in all our relationships.
Unfortunately, due to the passage of nearly 30 years, it was not possible to present all the documentation necessary to fully clarify the facts in the court case. Lastly, we emphasize that the ruling is not final and will be appealed. We remain confident that it will be overturned.
*Name changed to protect the victim’s identity.
