Report from Mexico News Daily
In Brief – Mexico has enacted “Gig Worker” legislation that aims to provide hundreds of thousands of platform-enabled workers with traditional employment benefits and protections. The new law, which goes into effect in June, establishes that gig workers earning at least the national minimum monthly salary (currently the equivalent of approximately US $450) on a digital platform will be categorized as an employee of that platform and be due employee rights and benefits, including the right to join a union. Work and pay on platforms will continue to be task-based, with pay for a task including the proportional contributions for benefits such as weekly rest day, vacation, and overtime, rather than additional amounts being added afterward. Those who work on digital platforms but do not reach the monthly minimum wage threshold on any single one will continue to be classified as independent contractors. A digital platform will be required to register their platform employees with the Mexican Social Security Institute and withhold and pay the employee and employer contributions, including to the Mexican Workers Housing Fund Institute. Platforms will also be responsible for payment of the insurance under the social security system for any labor accident that occurs while a task was being done, both for employee workers and independent contractors. It is reported that about 658,000 people work on digital platforms in Mexico, of including 272,000 estimated to reach the minimum monthly wage.
Context – Although the EU’s Platform Labor Directive was initially intended to set uniform Gig worker employee classification standards, the final version left that in the hands of each member state, with some, including Spain and Portugal, going further than others. The Biden Administration was engaged in regulatory action at the US Department of Labor and the FTC intended to energize progressive labor advocates, but the incoming Trump Administration is expected to halt those efforts and be more amenable to independent contractor-based business models.