Overview
- The constitutional reform published in the Diario Oficial schedules a staged reduction from 48 hours in 2026 to 46 hours on January 1, 2027 and then to 44 in 2028, 42 in 2029 and 40 in 2030 while explicitly forbidding cuts to wages or benefits.
- In mid-September 2026 about 50 companies in Coahuila were running adaptation exercises and the state labor office held meetings to help firms reorganize shifts and operations during 2026’s official preparation period.
- The decree obliges the Secretaría del Trabajo y Previsión Social (STPS) to collect data but does not require public release or set a schedule, so Senator Francisco Daniel Barreda Pavón has proposed adding a rule that would force the STPS to publish integrated quarterly reports using INEGI and IMSS data.
- Starting in 2027 covered employers will have to electronically register the start and end of each shift once the STPS issues implementing rules, and firms that do not comply face fines of 250 to 5,000 UMA though the ministry must still define which employers and exceptions apply.
- High informality—INEGI put informal employment at 56.2% in July 2026—plus open enforcement and reporting details mean key test points will be how the STPS defines scope, how electronic time records are used, and whether pilots abroad show productivity and wellbeing gains that Mexico can replicate.