The existence of the obligation also seems obvious vis-à-vis the colleagues of the professional firm (affiliated companies, associations and societies between professionals, colleagues with whom certain premises are shared), even if we cannot fail to highlight some critical points: lawyers are considered like any other employee in the private sector. It follows that they are required to comply with the Green Pass obligation when they go to a professional company (even if it is their own). In accordance with the content of Legislative Decree 127/2021, published in G.U 21 September 2021, No. 226, the Super Green Pass will enter into force from 15 October 2021. What does it consist of? While it is true that the rule applies to all employees who, for various reasons, operate in the workplace, we cannot fail to note that lawyers are freelancers, self-employed and self-employed, so it would not be possible to identify an employer within the meaning of the law. Lawyers are therefore considered to have the same rights as all employees in the private sector, although it is necessary to examine the compatibility of the obligations introduced (expressly intended to extend the obligations imposed on honorary judges) with professional autonomy and independence and with the circumstances of the case. The provisions introduced are (intentionally) formulated in quite general terms, without distinction between craftsmen, self-employed, small, medium-sized and large enterprises (the only reference allows companies with less than 15 employees to suspend the employee after 5 days of absence without a green passport, with a special employment contract for his replacement for a maximum of 10 days, renewable only once), which makes the obligation of the Green Passport for access to jobs in the private sector not only for employees, but also for “all subjects who, for whatever reason, carry out their work, training or voluntary activities in the places referred to in paragraph 1, including on the basis of external contracts”. October 15, 2021 is D.L. 127/21 for the application of urgent provisions on the use of Covid-19 environmental certifications in public and private working environments, including the obligation to hold the green passport for access to the workplace. These provisions will expire on 31 December 2021 with the end of the state of emergency. The regulation will affect the entire world of work and will also involve lawyers. We therefore analyze D.L.
127/21, also in the light of the evaluations expressed by the CNF with the reading sheet of 23 September 2021 of EU Regulation 2016/679 on the processing of personal data and Legislative Decree 196/03 (known as the Personal Data Protection Code). From 15 October 2021, a number of innovations will apply to the Green Passport, which will notably concern lawyers and professional firms. -They are primarily freelancers, autonomous and independent, so it is not possible to identify an “employer” within the meaning of the legislation (and therefore the professional company must identify the persons responsible for fulfilling the obligations introduced); The CNF therefore concludes that, although the lawyer must have a green passport to have access to his place of work, that is, to his professional office, the client who communicates with him does not seem to be bound by the same obligation and cannot claim the issuance of the green passport by the lawyer, who receives it. Therefore, the provisions in question do not require lawyers to obtain green certification to access judicial functions, although the same obligation applies to judges (Article 2) and employees and collaborators (Article 1) of the same offices. The explanatory report states that “the intervention is intended only to regulate relations between the administration and its staff, with at most an extension to those who carry out a similar activity for the benefit of the latter on a voluntary basis”. Places where access depends on possession of the green passport include private workplaces among places where access depends on possession of the green passport (Art. 3 D.L. 127/2021). Double regime for lawyers: From Friday, October 15, the green passport will be used in the studio, but not to go to court. This is one of the paradoxes that emerges from the reading of Legislative Decree 127/2021 (which is being examined by the Senate with a view to its conversion into law), which provides for the obligation to hold the Covid-Green certificate to access public and private workplaces, but explicitly states that lawyers and other defense lawyers do not have to prove it to access judicial functions. Green passport companies, guide to obligations for employees and employers Therefore, all employees in any capacity (such as secretaries) and employees of the company must also comply with this rule.
As the same considerations highlighted by the CNF show, there are critical issues related to the implementation of the decree. Lawyers are indeed freelancers and therefore do not have an employer. So who should ensure that the obligations imposed are respected? According to the author, this figure must be sought in the powers, including representation vis-à-vis third parties, conferred by law (in the associative field) or by the owner of the individual law firm, but there is no doubt that an authentic interpretation by the legislature would be desirable in order to remove any doubt in this regard. But we could also find ourselves in the paradoxical situation where the lawyer is denied access to his office because he does not have a green passport, which has the possibility of accessing the relevant files. But beware, the same lawyer will have access to judicial functions even without a green passport (art. 2 D.L. 127/21). In order to minimize this contribution in practice, we can therefore paraphrase that during a meeting with a client, with a hypothetical colleague from another firm who follows the firm with him, and with a technical advisor, a green certification must be requested if the lawyer of his firm has a meeting with a client, with a hypothetical colleague from another law firm who follows the practice with him, at the time of access to the second and third, but not to the first.