CCSS orders dismissal without employer liability against oncology nursing assistant

The San Juan de Dios Hospital, of the Costa Rican Social Security Fund (CCSS), issued a final act of dismissal without employer liability against nursing assistant Joseph Yosvanny Sánchez Salas for violations of the Punctuality and Attendance Regime in April 2026. The resolution of file 26-00044-2102-ODIS was adopted at four o’clock on July 30, 2026, and is published for the third time in La Gaceta No. 191 on Friday, October 9, 2026, page 124. The sanction is conditional because the employee resigned from the institution on July 24, 2026.

The deciding body was the Sub-directorate of Surgery and Oncohematology-ICUs of the San Juan de Dios Hospital, which conducted the disciplinary administrative procedure against Joseph Yosvanny Sánchez Salas, ID 4-0212-0947, Nursing Assistant of the Hemato-Oncology Area. The edict was published for the first time on October 7, 2026, in La Gaceta No. 189, page 193; for the second time on October 8 in La Gaceta No. 190, page 181; and for the third time this October 9, under publication reference IN202601131641.

The facts supporting the sanction

On May 12, 2026, the Sub-directorate received from the Human Resources Management Unit the consolidated absences for the month of April 2026, which attributed to the employee absences on April 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 26, 27, 28, and 29, during the 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. schedule and in the third shift of the Men’s Oncology Service.

The review of the SILARH system determined that sick leave covered April 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 20, 21, 23, 24, 26, 27, 28, and 29, but not April 9, 10, 19, and 22, for which no suitable justification document was found or provided. The file also proves that on May 15, 2026, Mr. Sánchez Salas began an appointment as Nurse 1 in the Medicine Area.

The applied norm and the criterion of the deciding body

The final act is based on Article 76 of the Internal Labor Regulations of the CCSS, which sanctions unjustified absences computable at the end of a calendar month, and Article 81 paragraph g) of the Labor Code. The deciding body also cited Resolution No. 00021-2023 of the Contentious Administrative Court, Section VII, as it concerned a similar case of a CCSS employee.

• Articles 11 of the Political Constitution and 11, 102 paragraph c), 211.1, and 214 of the General Law of Public Administration.
• Articles 71 paragraph d) and 72 paragraph a) of the Labor Code.
• Articles 46 paragraph c) and 79 of the Internal Labor Regulations.

The deciding body held that the absenteeism of a Nursing Assistant affects the healthcare response capacity, patient safety, and the continuity of care for the oncological population, and concluded that the only possible sanction was dismissal without employer liability.

Conditional sanction and means of challenge

The final act warns that, as there has been no employment relationship with Mr. Sánchez Salas since July 24, 2026, due to his resignation from the position of Nursing Assistant, there is a legal impossibility to materialize the dismissal; therefore, the sanction remains conditional upon the official returning to the institution.

The official has five business days following notification to file a motion for reconsideration before the Department Head and an appeal before the Nursing Directorate, in accordance with articles 342 et seq. of the General Law of Public Administration and article 139 of the Labor Relations Regulations. The resolution is signed by Dr. Mónica Villegas León, in her capacity as the Deciding Body.

The publication of the final act closes, in the administrative venue, a disciplinary file that took nearly three months to resolve and which exposes the limited room for maneuver of the CCSS when the sanctioned official has already left the institution: the sanction exists, but it cannot be executed as long as there is no reinstatement. For the Hemato-Oncology services, the case further illustrates how unjustified absenteeism is treated as a direct risk to patient safety and not merely as a labor violation.

Source: La Gaceta, No. 191 of October 9, 2026, Section I, page 124 (official reference: file 26-00044-2102-ODIS; publication IN202601131641).