The Superior Court of Río Negro analyzed an “emoji” to reach a ruling in a labor case

He Superior Court of Justice of the province of Black riverintegrated to Ricardo Apcarian, María Cecilia Criado, Sergio M. Barotto, Sergio G. Ceci and Liliana Laura Piccininiissued a ruling establishing that the use of “emojis” in digital communications is “very limited or relative” and must be complemented with other means of proof.

This determination comes after an employee argued that his absences from work were justified due to a response from the company that consisted of the classic “thumbs up” emoticon on the platform. WhatsApp.

As a result of the evidence presented, the court allowed the company to proceed with the dismissal of the employee, who accumulated a total of nine absences from his workdays. Furthermore, the judges ruled that the use of emojis does not constitute “an unequivocal sign of expression of will.”

As reported Telam, the terminated employee had a history of 47 prior sanctions and numerous unexcused absences and, prior to attempts to terminate his employment contract, the employee was absent for nine days in the same month and subsequently attempted to excuse those absences by communicating via a corporate phone of the company. Faced with this, he received the response in the form of a “thumbs up” emoji from the WhatsApp messaging platform.

The company began a process of exclusion from union protection as a prior step to dismissal. In an earlier stage, the Viedma Labor Chamber had rejected the claim and considered that the penalty was disproportionate, understanding that the employee had received compliance from the company through the emoji in question.

However, the ruling was reviewed by the STJ, which analyzed in depth the scope of emoticons or emojis.

The court concluded that the interpretation of these symbols can fluctuate depending on the context and perception of the recipient. This decision is based on the recognition that the interpretation of emojis is highly subjective and variable, which is why the judges highlighted the need for additional solid evidence in court cases.

And in an attempt to provide a parallel to the physical world, the judges drew a comparison to the use of the seal at check-in desks in the legal realm. In this way, they argued that, when presenting a notification of this type, it would not be acceptable to assume that the stamp of receipt of the documentation implies compliance with its content. On the contrary, it only serves as proof that the documentation has been received at a certain time, according to the information of the local media. Rio Negro Diary.

Thus, they reiterated that the emoticon guaranteed the reception of the message, so it could not be interpreted as approval or agreement with the communication received.

It is noteworthy that the thumbs up gesture, with its dual meaning of approval and gratitude, became a universal symbol in digital communication and although Facebook was the platform that popularized it, its history has deeper roots and is marked by twists and evolutions over time.

The history of this emoji dates back to ancient times, according to legend, when the Roman emperor used it as a gesture to determine the fate of gladiators in the arena and this simple two-dimensional gesture has become an iconic representation in the world. digital era, transcending borders and cultures.

Despite its apparent simplicity, the “thumbs up” emoji has evolved and acquired deep meaning in contemporary communication.

With information from Télam