Firefighters dismiss administrative assistant without employer liability due to unjustified absences

The General Directorate of the Benemérito Cuerpo de Bomberos de Costa Rica (Costa Rica Fire Department) imposed dismissal without employer liability on Suline Youstine Chinchilla Vargas, administrative assistant II of the Vehicle Maintenance Unit, for unjustified absences classified as a very serious offense. The resolution was issued at nine forty hours on October 15, 2026, and is notified via publication in La Gaceta No. 201 on Friday, October 23, 2026, within file CBCR-011-2026-ORL-O (reference IN202601133737).

The act appears in the notifications section of the official gazette, under the heading of the Instituto Nacional de Seguros and the Benemérito Cuerpo de Bomberos de Costa Rica, as the second of three ordered consecutive publications. The notification is carried out by edict, in accordance with articles 241, 242, and 246 of the General Law of Public Administration, due to the impossibility of performing it at the employee’s last registered address and the lack of any other known available place or means, according to the proceedings incorporated into the administrative file.

This is a special administrative procedure of a disciplinary nature processed under file CBCR-011-2026-ORL-O, in which the General Directorate evaluated documentary and testimonial evidence before resolving.

The facts declared proven

The resolution declared the employee’s unjustified absences proven on the following dates of 2026:

• April 8, 9, 27, 28, 29, and 30
• May 20

On none of those days was there a medical disability, permit, leave, or other cause justifying the absence, according to the published text.

The directing body determined that these absences breached the duty of attendance and effective provision of service and affected the operation of the Vehicle Maintenance Unit, as they required the redistribution of functions and generated an accumulation of files and delays in administrative tasks.

The legal classification of the offense

For these reasons, the General Directorate classified the conduct as a very serious offense and imposed the sanction of dismissal without employer liability, based on:

• article 82, subsection a), of the Collective Labor Agreement of the Benemérito Cuerpo de Bomberos de Costa Rica
• articles 80, subsection 1), and 87 of the same collective instrument
• the cause provided for in article 81, subsection g), of the Labor Code

Appeals and effects of the notification

Ordinary appeals for revocation and appeal may be filed against the final act within a period of three business days, counting from the business day following the date on which the notification is deemed to have been made. Both appeals must be filed before the General Directorate: the revocation shall be resolved by that body, and the appeal shall be elevated to the Board of Directors for its resolution.

The full text of the resolution and the administrative file are available for consultation by the interested party. Notification shall be deemed to have been made five days after the final publication, pursuant to Article 241 of the General Law of Public Administration. The notice is signed by Héctor Chaves León, General Director.

The case illustrates the margin with which the active administration applies the disciplinary regime of the public sector: repeated absence without justification is classified as a very serious offense and enables dismissal without employer liability, but the decision is subject to two internal filters—revocation before the General Directorate itself and appeal before the Board of Directors—and to the publicity of the edict, which guarantees the defense of the official when it is not possible to locate her at her registered address.

Source: La Gaceta, No. 201, October 23, 2026, notifications section, p. 90 (official reference: IN202601133737).