Overview
- Brazil’s government sent an urgent bill to Congress on Tuesday to cut the standard week to 40 hours, end the 6x1 schedule, and protect pay, with officials forecasting debate and votes within 45 to 90 days.
- Mexico’s Senate approved a secondary labor reform to implement the 40‑hour week and sent it to the Chamber of Deputies, fixing daily caps at eight hours for day work, seven for night, and seven and a half for mixed shifts.
- Senators kept the traditional definition of the workday as time when the worker is at the employer’s disposal, rejecting a shift to “time effectively worked” that could have reclassified waiting or standby periods.
- The Mexican bill requires electronic time clocks with records that count as legal evidence and sets fines from 250 to 5,000 UMA, or about 29,400 to 586,500 pesos, for employers that fail to comply.
- Key details remain contested in Mexico, with senators arguing the daily limits ensure two weekly rest days and some labor lawyers disputing that guarantee, while timelines diverge between a possible May 1 start and reports of a gradual rollout from 2027 to 2030.