The CCSS conditions the dismissal of a nurse on their reinstatement

The Costa Rican Social Security Fund (CCSS) issued a final act of dismissal without employer liability against Joseph Yosvanny Sánchez Salas, a nursing assistant at the San Juan de Dios Hospital, for unjustified absenteeism. The resolution was adopted by the hospital’s Deciding Body on July 30, 2026, and is published in La Gaceta No. 189 on Wednesday, October 7, 2026, under official reference IN202601130367. The sanction is conditional upon the employee returning to the institution, as he resigned from his position on July 24, 2026.

The procedure was processed under file 26-00044-2102-ODIS, managed by the Sub-directorate of Surgery and Oncohematology-UCIS of the San Juan de Dios Hospital, and was resolved by Dr. Mónica Villegas León in her capacity as the Deciding Body. The decision is based on numeral 76 of the CCSS Internal Labor Regulations and Article 81, subsection g) of the Labor Code, which authorize the employer to terminate the contract when the worker fails to attend without justified cause for two consecutive days or more than two alternate days within the same calendar month.

The absences that originated the process

• On May 12, 2026, the Sub-directorate received the consolidated report of punctuality and attendance failures for April 2026 from the Human Resources Management Unit.
• April 9, 10, 19, and 22, 2026, from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., remained unjustified.
• April 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 20, 21, 23, 24, 26, 27, 28, and 29, 2026, were justified with medical leaves included in the SILARH system.
• The employee served as a nursing assistant in the Men’s Oncology Service, Hemato-Oncology Area.
• On May 15, 2026, he began an appointment as Nurse 1 in the Medicine Area.
• On July 17, 2026, at 7:00 p.m., the proposed sanction was issued.

The dismissal and its conditionality

The final act is issued based on Article 11 of the Political Constitution; Articles 11, 102 subsection C, 211.1, and 214 of the General Law of Public Administration; Article 71 subsection d) and 72 subsection a) of the Labor Code; and Article 46 subsection C) and 79 of the Internal Labor Regulations. The resolution warns that the absenteeism of a nursing assistant directly affects the healthcare response capacity, patient safety, and continuity of care for an especially vulnerable oncological population.

The document specifies that Joseph Yosvanny Sánchez Salas, identity card 4-0212-0947, resigned from his position as a nursing assistant at the CCSS effective July 24, 2026. Since there has been no employment relationship since that date, the institution indicates a legal impossibility to apply the sanction; therefore, the dismissal remains conditional upon the employee returning to the institution.

Recourse Route and Disciplinary Criterion

The resolution cites as a precedent the ruling of the Administrative Litigation Court, Section VII, Resolution No. 00021-2023, referring to a CCSS official with workplace absenteeism, to maintain that dismissal without employer liability is the only possible sanction for the proven faults.

• The official is warned that they have five business days following notification to file the ordinary resources of Revocation before the Department Head and Appeal before the Nursing Directorate.
• The deadline is governed by articles 342 et seq. of the General Law of Public Administration, in relation to article 139 of the Labor Relations Regulations.

The case establishes a disciplinary criterion for the institution: it proves that repeated absenteeism in critical services is sanctioned with the termination of the contract, and that the resignation of the investigated party does not extinguish administrative liability, but only suspends the execution of the sanction until an eventual reentry.

Source: La Gaceta No. 189, Wednesday, October 7, 2026, pág. 193-194 (official reference: IN202601130367).