{"id":19670,"date":"2019-01-10T10:45:39","date_gmt":"2019-01-10T16:45:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.basham.com.mx\/Blog\/?p=1731"},"modified":"2019-01-10T10:45:39","modified_gmt":"2019-01-10T16:45:39","slug":"amendment-bill-project-federal-labor-law-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/basham.com.mx\/en\/amendment-bill-project-federal-labor-law-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"AMENDMENT BILL PROJECT FEDERAL LABOR LAW 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"

AMENDMENT\nBILL PROJECT FEDERAL LABOR LAW 2018<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On December 22, 2018 a bill to amend and\npartially repeal various provisions of the Federal Labor Law submitted by the\n\u201cMorena\u201d Parliamentary Group was published in the Parliamentary Gazette.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bill\nacknowledges and adopts the principles and directives set out in Chapter 23[1]<\/a>\nof the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, also known as USMCA, and in Annex\nA thereto on collective bargaining, and in the Right to Organise and Collective\nBargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98)[2]<\/a>\nof the International Labor Organization, which was ratified by Mexico\u00b4s Senate\non September 27, 2018, thereby incorporating the amendments introduced to\nMexico\u2019s Federal Constitution in matters of employment-law justice in effect\nsince January 24, 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The proposed amendments to the Federal Labor Law are as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Conciliation Stage<\/strong><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    The bill\ncontemplates the bases for the creation and operation of a Federal\nConciliation and Labor Registration Center (the \u201cFederal Conciliation Center\u201d)<\/strong><\/a>,\nto be in charge of conciliation proceedings and the registration of labor\norganizations and union contracts at federal level. At state level, there would\nbe Conciliation Centers (\u201cState Conciliation Centers\u201d) to be in charge only of\nconciliation proceedings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Employers and\nemployees would be subject to a procedural pre-requisite to attend and complete\na conciliation stage prior to filing any judicial action with a labor court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The\nconciliation stage would consist of a mandatory single hearing to be held on a\nspecific date and time; any conciliatory negotiations would be held at times\nmutually agreed upon by the parties. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Any\nsettlement agreement to be reached during conciliation stage at the Federal\nConciliation Center or at any State Conciliation Center would be considered res judicata<\/em> and would be enforceable in\ncase of any breach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    No conciliation stage would need to be completed in any of the following cases: workplace discrimination claims, work during pregnancy, appointment of beneficiaries in case of death of any employee, social security benefits claims for occupational hazards, and any other social security claim, any violation to the freedom of association or effective collective bargaining rights, or any labor trafficking or child labor claim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    [1]<\/a> The Labor Chapter of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    [2]<\/a> Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    2. Employment-Law Justice.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The Constitutional amendment on employment-law justice <\/a>that became effective on February 24, 2017 provided that thenceforth any disputes between employers and employees would be settled by labor courts assigned either to the federal or to any state judicial branch of government; thus, the existing Conciliation and Arbitration Labor Boards are to disappear and be replaced by labor courts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    3. Freedom of Association and Effective Collective Bargaining Rights.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The bill expressly acknowledges that union members would be entitled to exercise the following rights of free affiliation and participation in labor organizations:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    a) No one may be forced to join any labor organization. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    b) The procedure for the election of members of the board of a labor organization would guarantee the free exercise of the personal, free and secret vote of each member.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    c) Any disciplinary sanction imposed by a labor organization to its members should comply with the applicable employment law regulations and union bylaws, and members would have the right of due process to be heard and defend themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    d) The way in which union assets are managed are to be disclosed to union members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    4. Union Contracts.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The bill\nimplements new measures for union contracts, ensuring the exercise of free\nassociation and effective collective bargaining rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The\nexecution, filing and registration of a new union contract and any salary and\nbenefit adjustments would be conditioned upon the securing of a so-called \u00abunion certification record\u00bb.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The union\ncertification record would be a legal pre-requisite for the validity of a union\ncontract, thereby evidencing that the union is the exclusive bargaining agent\nfor a majority of the employees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    A union\ncertification record issued by the Federal Conciliation Center should accompany\nany list of employees\u2019 demands and notice of intention to strike, whenever a\npetition to enter into a union contract or an industry-wide labor agreement or\na salary and\/or benefit adjustment revision is filed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    To comply with the constitutional amendments and the international commitments on collective bargaining, all existing union contracts are to be subject to revision at least once during the four-year period following the effective date of the proposed amendments. Any revised union contract is to be filed with the Federal Conciliation Center. If a union contract is not subject to revision within such period, the union contract will be deemed terminated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    5. New Ordinary Labor-Law Rules of Procedure.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The bill\nintroduces a new set of rules for the ordinary labor-law procedure, mainly\noral, but with a written stage thereby expediting the process, and providing\nthe parties with procedural transparency and promptness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The procedure\nwill begin by the filing of a complaint accompanied by all evidence supporting\nthe alleged facts and the relief claimed by the plaintiff. The labor court will\nserve summons (including the Plaintiff\u00b4s complaint and evidence) on the\ndefendant, and the defendant will be required to answer the complaint and offer\nevidence within 15 days following the date of service of summons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Thereafter, the labor court will notify\nthe plaintiff of defendant\u2019s answer to the complaint and the evidence thereby\noffered, so that the plaintiff may file a rebuttal and challenge any evidence\nso offered, within the following eight days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In turn, the court will notify the\ndefendant of plaintiff\u00b4s rebuttal and any challenge to plaintiff\u2019s evidence, so\nthat the defendant may file a defendant\u2019s rejoinder within five days following\nthe notice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Once the\ndefendant files the rejoinder, the court would set a date and time for a preliminary hearing<\/strong> at which the\nmatters at issue would be determined, together with the admissible evidence\noffered by the parties and the steps to be followed for preparing the\nproduction of evidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Then, the\ncourt would set a new date and time for a trial\nhearing<\/strong>, at which the admissible evidence would be presented; if at all\npossible, the trial would be completed in a single hearing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    After all evidence has been presented by the parties the court will declare that the trial has been completed and prepare the case for final judgment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    6. Notification and Communication System Between the Court and the Conciliation Center or different Labor Courts. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The bill\nproposes a notification and communications system using information technology\nfor expediting the procedure. The Conciliation Center and the court would have\na digital platform for notifications by electronic means. For this purpose, the\ncourt would assign an electronic inbox to the parties and, subject to their\nconsent, any subsequent notifications would be posted by using such inbox.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In addition, the court would have the technological means and applications to facilitate the processing of letters of request and any other court actions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    7. New Rules of Procedure for Certain Evidence.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The bill\nspecifically modifies the procedure to hear testimony of any of the parties to\nthe action (prueba confessional<\/em>) or any third-party testimony (prueba\ntestimonial<\/em>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    For the\ntestimony of a party to the action open questions may be posed by either the\ncourt or the opposing party, provided they relate to the matters at issue, so\nas to find the true nature of the facts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    For third party testimony, both direct and cross-examination would not be subject to any special rules, although certain guidelines are provided for objecting to specific questions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    8. New Obligations for Employers.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    A proposal is made to impose an obligation to employers to implement a protocol or internal policy to prevent and handle violence and sexual harassment claims, so as to ensure a work environment free of discrimination and violence.\u00a0 A second obligation would be to deliver to all employees a copy of the union contract, as amended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    9. Printed or Electronic Receipts of Salary and Benefit Payments<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The bill provides that the employer may deliver to the employee receipts evidencing the payment of salary and benefits, either in printed form or by any other means. This implies that digital receipts for tax purposes (CFDI for their Spanish acronym) may replace printed receipts, upon prior agreement between the employer and the employee, which in the event of a court action would constitute prima facie evidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    10. Beneficiaries of a Deceased Employee or Absent Employee due to Criminal Behavior.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    No obligation\nto complete an investigation on economic dependency would be required in any of\nthe following cases (as there is a legal presumption in their favor):\nbeneficiaries of a deceased or absent employee, including the surviving spouse,\nminor children under 18 years of age or children above 18 years of age with a\ndisability above 50%, or children up to 25 years of age still studying, or\nascendants, or common-law husband or wife, or a partner with whom the employee\nhas had a child.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    However, an investigation on economic dependency is to be completed when the death of an employee is due to a work accident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    11. Social Security Disputes.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Neither a conciliation stage needs to be completed nor a record thereof needs to be produced to file a social security benefit complaint in the following cases: the granting of benefits, either in cash or in kind, from the various types of insurance covered by the social security mandatory system, or those benefits payable by the National Workers\u2019 Housing Fund Institute, or by any retirement fund management institution (AFORE for its Spanish acronym).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    12. Measuring and Updating Unit (UMA for its Spanish acronym). <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The minimum wage would be replaced by the\nUMA concept, as a unit to determine the amount of any fines, or the amount of\nthe compensation payable to employees due to the introduction of new machinery\nin the workplace, or the permanent disability or death of an employee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In accordance\nwith the provisions of the transitory articles of the bill, the amendments to\nthe Federal Labor Law would become effective on the immediately following date\nof its publication in the Federal Official Gazette.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The Federal\nCongress, within six months following the publication of the amendments, should\nissue the Organic Law of the Federal Conciliation Center. Also, the Federal\nCongress together with the state legislatures should allocate the necessary\nfunds for implementing the amendments to the new labor-law justice system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The second transitory article of the bill\nprovides that the registration of union contracts and labor organizations with\nthe Federal Conciliation Center must start within a term not to exceed two\nyears from the effective date of the amendments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    However, the sixth transitory article\nprovides that the Federal Conciliation Center will start the conciliation stage\nefforts simultaneously with the date on which the new labor courts are to be\nopen for business, but without exceeding four years from the effective date of\nthe amendments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    State\nConciliation Centers and state labor courts must be open for business within\nthree years from the effective date of the amendments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Any labor-law\naction currently being processed with or by the Department of Labor and\/or any\nConciliation and Arbitration Board, either federal or state, would be completed\nin accordance with the rules of procedure contemplated by the Federal Labor Law\nin effect at the time the amendments become effective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Any individual, collective or registration\naction filed after the amendments become effective would be handled by a\nConciliation and Arbitration Board, either federal or state, until the Federal\nConciliation Center, the State Conciliation\nCenters and the new labor courts start working, within the terms contemplated\nby the transitory articles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    SINCERELY<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n\n\n\n
    \n Jorge de Presno (Mexico City)\n <\/td>\n jorgedepresno@basham.com.mx\n <\/td><\/tr>
    \n Sof\u00eda G\u00f3mez (Mexico City)\n <\/td>\n sgomez@basham.com.mx\n <\/td><\/tr>
    \n \u00c1lvaro Gonz\u00e1lez\n (Monterrey)\n <\/td>\n agonzalez@basham.com.mx\n <\/td><\/tr>
    \n Ernesto Fern\u00e1ndez (Quer\u00e9taro)\n <\/td>\n efernandez@basham.com.mx\n <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Mexico City, January 10th, 2019.
    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    AMENDMENT BILL PROJECT FEDERAL LABOR LAW 2018 On December 22, 2018 a bill to amend and partially repeal various provisions of the Federal Labor Law submitted by the \u201cMorena\u201d Parliamentary Group was published in the Parliamentary Gazette. The bill acknowledges and adopts the principles and directives set out in Chapter 23[1] of the United States-Mexico-Canada […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1264,1286],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19670","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-english","category-labor"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/basham.com.mx\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19670","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/basham.com.mx\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/basham.com.mx\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/basham.com.mx\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/basham.com.mx\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19670"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/basham.com.mx\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19670\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/basham.com.mx\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19670"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/basham.com.mx\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19670"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/basham.com.mx\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19670"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}