Executive Summary:
- On June 7, 2024, a reform was published to the General Law to Prevent, Punish and Eradicate Crimes Related to Human Trafficking, in force since June 8. This reform adds as labor exploitation the hours that exceed those stipulated by law.
- Penalties include 3 to 10 years in prison and significant fines, with harsher penalties for indigenous and Afro-Mexican communities. Investigation and punishment of these crimes falls to criminal authorities, with possible additional sanctions from labor authorities.
On Friday, June 7, 2024, the Decree amending and adding various provisions of the General Law to Prevent, Punish and Eradicate Crimes in the Matter of Human Trafficking and for the Protection and Assistance of the Victims of these Crimes was published in the Official Gazette of the Federation, which is of high impact for employers in Mexico and requires immediate attention. The reform came into effect on Saturday, June 8, 2024.
Since its enactment in 2012, this General Law included a definition labor exploitation, this occurs when a person obtains, directly or indirectly, an unjustifiable benefit, economic or otherwise, in an illicit manner, through another's work, subjecting the person to practices that violate their dignity, and in relation to this, three specific assumptions were established, including:
- Dangerous or unhealthy conditions, without the necessary protections in accordance with labor legislation or existing regulations for the development of an activity or industry.
- Existence of a manifest disproportion between the amount of work performed and the payment made for it.
- Salary below the legally established level.
It should be noted that, before this reform, we were not aware of the use of the criminal figure of labor exploitation.
Now, as a result of the published reform, a fourth express assumption of labor exploitation is added: working hours above those stipulated by law.
Among the reasons put forward in the legislative process, it was argued that excessive working hours violate the dignity of workers, perpetuating economic and social inequality and damaging health.
We will need to remain vigilant and act to remedy any potential violation that may occur regarding the length of the workday, given that it already constitutes positive law, as well as the criteria that is upheld as to what will be considered “above what is stipulated by the Law”, because as we know, even today we have different interpretations between the IMSS and the labor authorities when referring to the limits of the Federal Labor Law. It is important to anticipate that at this time the investigation, prosecution and punishment of such crimes corresponds to the criminal authorities of the federative entities or of the Federation, not to the labor authorities, without prejudice to the latter being able to apply the sanctions provided for in the Federal Labor Law.
As for the possible consequences, the general law described provides that whoever exploits one or more people in the workplace will be punished with a penalty of 3 to 10 years in prison, and a fine of 5 thousand to 50 thousand UMAs daily (2024 – each UMA is worth $108.57 MN). In the case of people belonging to indigenous and Afro-Mexican peoples and communities, the penalties provided will be from 4 to 12 years in prison, and from 7 thousand to 70 thousand UMAs.
