An amendment to the Federal Labor Law of Mexico, specifically Article 994, was published in the Federal Official Gazette (Diario Oficial de la Federación) on April 4, 2024. The aforementioned article sets forth fines ranging from 5,428.5 Mexican pesos to 162,855 Mexican pesos (approximately $330 to $9,900) for the year 2024, as they are adjusted to the current value of the Unit of Measurement and Update (Unidad de Medida y Actualización or UMA). Some of the obligations that are contemplated in this article that, if not complied with, may lead to the aforementioned fines, are mentioned below:
- not granting storage space for work tools owned by employees when it is necessary to store them on the premises of the workplace
- failing to issue biweekly work and salary statements to employees, when requested by them
- not providing written work certificates to employees or to those who terminate their employment relationship within three days of the request
- failing to grant time concessions to employees to vote in popular election processes and for trade union activities
- failing to make union and legal deductions from employees' salaries, when requested by the unions entitled to the Collective Bargaining Agreement
- Not being affiliated to the Institute of the National Fund for Workers' Consumption (Instituto del Fondo Nacional para el Consumo de los Trabajadores or FONACOT).
It is necessary to clarify that the main purpose of the reform is to include employers who are not affiliated to FONACOT within the applicable range of fines, so that employees have access to credits. This sanctioning measure is intended to strengthen the protection of workers' employment rights and to promote compliance with employers' obligations.
