STF concludes ruling and equalizes, by unanimous vote, maternity leave and adoption leave
The full bench resumed and concluded ADI 7,495 this Tuesday: every mother, whether biological or adoptive, is entitled to 120 days of paid leave, extendable by 60 more, regardless of whether her employment is governed by the CLT or a civil-service statute. The decision updates the partial status we reported on September 17.
ADI 7,495 challenged the difference in treatment between maternity leave granted to biological mothers and the leave granted to those who adopt a child, including access to the 60-day extension currently guaranteed, under the Empresa Cidadã Program model (Law No. 11,770/2008), to companies that voluntarily opt into the benefit. The case was under the rapporteurship of Justice Alexandre de Moraes.
How the period is counted
Under the ruling, the period must be counted from the ninth month of pregnancy, from birth, from adoption, or from obtaining custody for adoption purposes. In cases where the newborn or the mother is hospitalized, the count begins on hospital discharge, considering whichever discharge, the mother's or the baby's, occurs last.
What was left out: sharing leave among family members
The full bench rejected the request that parental leave be shared among family members (for example, between both parents, or interchangeably between father and mother), finding that this matter depends on its own legislative framework and cannot be created through a court ruling.
Modulation of effects: what applies from now on
The ruling applies to future leaves and also to leaves already underway on September 23, 2026, but it does not reach leaves already concluded before that date. This limits the risk of retroactive challenges over leave periods that have already ended.
How we got here
In the session held on September 16, 2026, the rapporteur had expanded his vote to advocate for the same unification, forming, until the session was suspended for the day, a partial four-vote majority in favor (Moraes, Cármen Lúcia, Flávio Dino and Dias Toffoli), with no votes against recorded. The resumed session, held this Tuesday, confirmed and expanded that understanding into a unanimous ruling by the full Court.
What this changes for your company
With a final, unappealable ruling on the way, companies that currently apply a different leave period to adoption leave than to biological maternity leave, including with respect to the Empresa Cidadã extension, need to review their internal policies and payroll systems to equalize both periods at 120 days, extendable by 60 more, and to adjust the count to reflect the hospital-discharge rule where applicable.
Changes like this directly affect benefits policy and the design of leave programs within our In-Company Training line and our Payroll Diagnostics & Review service.
Has your company already adjusted its internal adoption-leave policy to the same 120 days, extendable by 60 more, now guaranteed for biological maternity leave?