What’s happening in Mexico this week? Labor and employment legislative changes in Congress and other news for employers

This week, October 2229, the Mexican Congress continued to advance several pieces of legislation amending the Federal Labor Law (FLL), including bills that would make changes to wage and hour requirements, increase holiday bonuses, prohibit criminal background checks, and promote the employment of older workers.

Important changes in the field of labor and employment law have also occurred on the judicial front, with the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (Supreme Corte de Justicia de la Nacin (SCJN)) issuing a decision establishing the criteria for approving resignations in court in the course of legal proceedings.

Quick hits

• Mexico’s federal legislature is working on laws on wages and hours, criminal background checks and the hiring of older workers.
• The SCJN recently issued a decision establishing criteria for approving resignations during legal proceedings.

Possible changes in FLL or employment-related instructions

Shortening the working week. The bill on reducing weekly working time from forty-eight to forty hours will be discussed in the open parliament in October and November 2023. Any amendments may be subject to further analysis after the discussion deadline.

Criminal Background Checks Prohibited. The Senate has referred a bill to the Chamber of Deputies that would include in the FLL a ban on criminal background checks that are already considered illegal under other federal laws and regulations.

Christmas bonus increase. A bill to increase the statutory Christmas bonus (Aguinaldo in Spanish) from the equivalent of fifteen days’ pay to thirty days’ pay is the subject of a second review by the Labor and Social Welfare Committee of the Chamber of Deputies.

Elderly workers. The Senate approved a bill that would require employers with twenty or more employees to ensure that at least 5 percent of their workforce (one employee) is at least sixty years of age. The bill was sent to the Chamber of Deputies for discussion.

Minimum wage for 2024. The National Minimum Wage Commission has proposed a 12.5% ​​increase in the minimum wage. for 2024. However, the proposal has not yet been formally discussed.

The SCJN establishes criteria for approving a waiver in court during legal proceedings

In early 2023, the SCJN established a set of criteria for approving judicial waivers during legal proceedings. The SCJN ruled that where an employer invokes an employee’s voluntary termination of employment, the original resignation must be produced and must convincingly and consistently reflect the employee’s free will, autonomy and spontaneity in terminating the employment relationship.

In connection with the criteria, on October 4, 2023, the SCJN issued a new ruling stating that labor courts must analyze all resignation letters, taking into account all specific features of the case, including employee characteristics such as age, qualifications and economic situation/ economic. social status.

The criterion results from a case in which the employer entered a printed resignation into the evidence and the Labor Court issued a ruling favorable to the employer. However, the plaintiff (a former employee) appealed against the resolution, arguing that at the time of the alleged resignation, the employee was a domestic worker who was over eighty years old and had no knowledge of using computers or access to a computer. Therefore, it was not reasonable for the former employee, given the individual’s particular characteristics, to be the one to type and print the resignation letter and then ultimately resign.

Given the above, employers may wish to take the time to review their opt-out formats/processes, as many of those currently in place do not meet SCJN criteria and cannot serve as fully valid evidence in legal proceedings.