On December 5, 2018, Mexico's Senate Joint Commissions on Education and Legislative Studies approved a bill to amend the Education General Law and the Federal Labor Law to grant working parents the legal right to take time off from work to participate in their children’s school activities.  This initiative—pending approval by Mexico's House of Representatives—would require the Ministry of Labor to implement the necessary regulations to allow flexibility for working parents to take school-related leave without being required to make up that time so long as they provide proof of such school activities.

Although the bill's legislative language does not specify the length of the leave, its frequency, eligibility to take such leave, or compensation, the intent is based on American jurisprudence, as some U.S. states provide for unpaid leaves of absence for school-related activities with monthly or yearly caps.

Having received approval from the majority of the Senate, this bill now moves to the House of Representatives for final review before it is submitted to the President for enactment into law and publication in the Federation’s Official Gazette. If the bill is approved as-is, within six months the Ministry of Labor will be required to publish the necessary regulations to implement the changes to Mexico's work scheduling laws.

Littler Mexico will continue monitoring and reporting on any significant legislative developments on this topic.