The third stage of the New Labor Justice System in Mexico begins – Lexology

Editor's note: 7.4 is key information

(From below)

7. It will not be necessary to exhaust the previous conciliation stage in matters in which the workers' claim is based on:

In brief

As of 30 September 2022, the Conciliation and Arbitration Boards will no longer accept lawsuits.

As of 3 October 2022, the Labor Courts of the Judicial Branch will have jurisdiction to resolve labor lawsuits.

Before initiating a trial, a preliminary conciliatory stage must be completed before the State Conciliation Centers or the Federal Center for Conciliation and Labor Registration.

Labor trials will be adjusted to comply with the new rules of the procedure in two phases, one Written and one Oral.

The Written Stage is the presentation of the lawsuit and response, and the submission of evidence.

The Oral Phase consists of two hearings, a preliminary hearing and a trial hearing to discover evidence.

Employers must prepare to face the trial from the moment they become aware of the lawsuit, even if they intend to negotiate the lawsuit, since legal deadlines are very short.

In depth

New system of Labor Justice

On 3 October 2022, the third and final stage of the implementation of the New Labor Justice System began, arising from the Reform to the Federal Labor Law published by Decree in the Official Gazette of the Federation on 1 May 2022 (“Reform“) and Executive Order 07-19/07/2022 issued by the Coordination Council for the Implementation of the Labor Reform to the Labor Justice System (“Executive Order“).

In such Executive Order, the Council resolved to initiate the third stage of implementation of the Reform of the Labor Justice System no later than 3 October 2022 at the federal and local levels in the States of Chihuahua, Mexico City, Coahuila, Jalisco, Michoacán, Nayarit, New León, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tamaulipas, and Yucatán, and at the local level in the States of Baja California Sur and Guerrero.

Under the Executive Order:

1. The Conciliation and Arbitration Boards stopped accepting new demands and matters.
2. Claims received by the Conciliation and Arbitration Boards up to 11:59 pm on 30 September 2022 will be processed before said authority following the prior trial procedure in place before the Reform was published on 1 May 2019.
3. The new labor claims will have to be modified to comply with the new procedure.
4. Prior to initiating a trial before the Labor Courts of the Judicial Branch of the States or the Federation, a prior conciliation stage must be completed before the State Conciliation Centers or the Federal Center for Conciliation and Labor Registration.
5. The conciliation stage must be exhausted in a maximum time of 45 days.
6. If no agreement is reached, the Conciliation Center must issue a Certificate of NO Conciliation, which will be one of the requirements to be met by the workers before initiating a lawsuit before the Labor Courts.
7. It will not be necessary to exhaust the previous conciliation stage in matters in which the workers' claim is based on:
   
   1. Discrimination in employment and occupation due to pregnancy, as well as for reasons of sex, sexual orientation, race, religion, ethnic origin, social status or harassment or sexual harassment.
   2. Designation of beneficiaries by death.
   3. Social security benefits for work risks, maternity, illness, disability, life, nurseries and benefits in kind and work related accidents.
   4. The protection of fundamental rights and public freedoms in labor, understood in these items as those related to:
      
      1. Freedom of association, trade union freedom and the effective recognition of collective bargaining
      2. Labor trafficking, as well as forced and compulsory labor
      3. Child labor

For these exceptions to apply, the plaintiff must provide evidence that any of the these rights were violated, producing reasonable suspicion, appearance or presumption to the Court:

5. The dispute over the ownership of contracts or collective contracts
6. The challenge to union statutes or their modification

8. Once the conciliatory stage has been exhausted or an exception is found, the claim will be filed with the competent Court, fulfilling the new requirements under the law.

The procedure has two phases, one written and one oral.

1. The Written Phase includes the presentation and response of the demand, submission and admission of evidence; and replies and counterclaims.
2. The Oral Phase consists of two hearings:
   
   1. Preliminary hearing. The procedure is refined, undisputed facts are established, evidence is admitted or rejected and a trial hearing is set.
   2. Trial hearing. Evidence is discovered, arguments are made and a sentence is issued.

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