Multi-national companies located in the United States employ a substantial number of employees in Mexico, a country with whom the United States has significant trade relations. Mexico shares a border with the United States and Americans regularly visit Mexico. However, the employment and labor laws in Mexico are much different than those in the United States, with laws that provide, in numerous ways, greater employment, compensation, separation and data privacy rights for employees working in Mexico. This article will focus on many of the employment laws of Mexico which multi-national employers interested in hiring employees in Mexico should understand to best comply with the law and leverage their business opportunities in that country.

Overview of Mexican Employment and Labor Law. Mexican employment and labor law is governed primarily by the Mexican Federal Labor Law, which has been in effect since 1970, as well as Mexico’s 1917 Constitution. Some of the important rules of Mexican employment and labor law are as follows....