Día de Muertos Is Around the Corner: Are November 1 and 2 Mandatory Holidays in Mexico?

Quick Hits

• On November 1 and November 2, Mexico celebrates Día de Muertos, but this festivity is not considered under the FLL as a mandatory holiday.
• Under certain circumstances, November 1 and/or November 2 can be deemed as mandatory rest days.

Día de Muertos Is Not a Mandatory Holiday

As mentioned above, November 1 and/or November 2 are not established in Article 74 of the FLL as mandatory holidays that employers must grant to their employees, although the period of time is considered as a Mexican festivity.

However, the FLL does not prohibit employers from determining and granting festivities—such as Día de Muertos—or any additional day as mandatory rest days. Hence, even though Día de Muertos is not a mandatory holiday, it can be deemed as a mandatory rest day in the following scenarios:

• If it is agreed in a collective bargaining agreement
• If it is agreed in employees’ individual employment agreements
• If it is agreed in a company’s internal work regulations
• If the employer has been considering November 1 and/or November 2 as mandatory rest days in previous years and there is no disclaimer from the employer regarding discretion for granting said days
• If it is considered in a company policy and it does not mention whether the employer can grant said days at its discretion

If an employer fits in any of these scenarios, it might be its obligation to grant November 1 and November 2 to its employees as mandatory rest days, which would imply that if employees are required to work during said days, they would be entitled to triple pay for working on mandatory rest days.

If employers do not fall under any of the referenced scenarios, employees are obligated to be present at work on a normal basis and entitled to their normal salary.

Ogletree Deakins’ Mexico City office will continue to monitor developments and will provide updates on the Cross-Border blog as additional information becomes available.

Pietro Straulino-Rodríguez is the managing partner of the Mexico City office of Ogletree Deakins.

Natalia Merino Moreno is an associate in the Mexico City office of Ogletree Deakins.

María José Bladinieres is a law clerk in the Mexico City office of Ogletree Deakins.

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