Overview
- The constitutional and labor reforms, promulgated in March 2026, set a staged cut from 48 hours to 40 hours by January 1, 2030 with 46 hours in 2027, 44 in 2028 and 42 in 2029.
- The amended Federal Labor Law now requires employers to keep electronic start and end time records for each worker and to provide them to labor inspectors on request.
- The reform adds fines for noncompliance, set at 250 to 5,000 UMA, and the STPS will publish technical lineamientos that will determine how the digital system works and which sectors may get narrow exceptions.
- Payroll experts warn the gradual cut will raise the effective cost per hour for employers—one estimate puts the wage-only increase at about 20% by 2030—and companies must update contracts, shift plans and attendance systems because digital records will be central legal evidence.
- A senator has proposed mandatory quarterly public monitoring by STPS using INEGI and IMSS data to track hours worked and sector effects, and similar U.S. proposals to lower overtime thresholds underline a growing international debate over shorter workweeks.