Mexico Labor and Employment Law Roundup for 2025, and What’s Coming in 2026: A Brief Compliance Guide

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Quick Hits

• “Ley Silla”—the Chair Law—took effect in June 2025, with Labor Ministry inspections starting in December 2025.
• App‑based couriers have been recognized as employees since June 2025.
• SIQAL, the Labor Ministry portal for anonymously filing complaints and reporting workplace accidents, has been live since September 2025.
• The minimum wage increased 13 percent, effective January 1, 2026. The daily, monthly, and annual UMA‑indexed amounts will increase 3.69 percent over the 2025 UMA rates, effective February 1, 2026.
• The Labor Ministry’s inspections are expected to tighten up enforcement throughout 2026, through all kind of visits.

2025 Labor and Employment Roundup

Mexico saw several initiatives from late 2024 gain traction in 2025, translating into concrete obligations for employers across industries.

Chair Law. The Chair Law (“Ley Silla”) was published on December 19, 2024, and became enforceable in June 2025. The Chair Law requires employers to provide a sufficient number of seats with backrests for employees and to refrain from prohibiting seated breaks when the nature of the work allows it. While the obligations had been in place since June, labor authorities initiated formal inspections on this topic in December 2025.

App-based couriers as employees. Amendments to the Federal Labor Law recognizing app‑based couriers as employees were published on December 24, 2024, and took effect in June 2025. The reforms established a regulatory framework intended to protect couriers who provide services through digital platforms and to provide legal certainty to the sector. Employers and platforms operating in this space may want to review their contracting models, onboarding, social security registration, benefit accruals, and health and safety obligations to ensure they align with an employment relationship.

INFONAVIT Loans. On February 22, 2025, amendments to the National Housing Fund Institute for Workers Law (INFONAVIT) law were published. Although approved early in 2025, their practical relevance increased toward the end of the year due to criteria issued by INFONAVIT and the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nación). Employers may want to validate payroll configurations, contributions, and employee communications to ensure proper handling of INFONAVIT rights, deductions, and any new procedural requirements.

SIQAL (whistleblowing tool): A New Way to Submit Complaints and Report Workplace Accidents in Mexico. Since September 2025, the SIQAL portal—run by the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare (Secretaría del Trabajo y Previsión Social (STPS))—has provided a centralized, anonymous channel for filing labor complaints and reporting workplace accidents. This tool spans issues from general labor noncompliance to unsafe working conditions.

Preparing for 2026

With 2025 now closed, employers may want to prepare for new financial thresholds, potential legislative changes, and increased enforcement intensity in 2026.

Minimum Wage. On December 3, 2025, The National Commission on Minimum Wages (Comisión Nacional de los Salarios Mínimos (CONASAMI)) approved a 13 percent increase to the minimum wage effective January 1, 2026.

Update of Mexico’s Unit of Measure. On January 12, 2026, the National Institute of Statistics and Geography announced an increase to Mexico’s Unit of Measure and Update (UMA), setting it at $117.31 MXN per day, effective February 1, 2026.

Risk premium update. The Mexican Social Security Institute (Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS)) requires employers to review and, where applicable, update their risk premium based on the prior year’s workplace accidents and occupational diseases. Employers must prepare and submit the annual report of work accidents for the relevant period and confirm that classification, contribution rates, and supporting documentation are accurate and complete (due February of every year).

Forty-Hour Workweek. The initiative to reduce the workweek to forty hours was reintroduced to the Congress of the Union, with the latest proposal suggesting enforceability beginning in 2027. Although there is no definitive approval date, Mexico’s current administration has treated the matter as a priority, and approval is plausible in 2026. Employers may want to model staffing, scheduling, overtime exposure, and cost scenarios under a forty‑hour framework and consider collective bargaining implications.

World Cup 2026. With Mexico co‑hosting the 2026 FIFA World Cup, there has been public discussion about declaring the opening day a holiday in Mexico City. This has not been confirmed, but employers may want to monitor official announcements, and employees’ vacations / absenteeism trends to be prepared to approach the World Cup.

T-MEC (USMCA) trade agreement. Review of the Mexico-United States-Canada Treaty is scheduled for discussion on July 1, 2026, with an emphasis on compliance with labor and energy commitments. Potential adjustments could affect sectors such as automotive and technology. Employers may want to monitor the review’s outcomes and anticipate supply chain, compliance, and labor‑relations impacts over the medium term if revisions are adopted.

Workplace Inspections. Given the heightened regulatory focus and the new and amended obligations described above, workplace inspections are likely to become more frequent and more granular. Authorities may emphasize compliance with the Chair Law, INFONAVIT obligations, general working conditions, accident reporting, and proper classification of platform‑based workers. Employers may want to prioritize audit‑ready documentation, ensure internal policies reflect current law, and conduct periodic compliance reviews.

Ogletree Deakins’ Mexico City office will continue to monitor developments and will provide updates on the Cross-Border and Mexico blogs 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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