New Court Precedent Determines the Length of Rest Periods in Discontinuous Shifts

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Legal Update • August 3rd, 2011

Recently, the First Federal Collegiate Court on Labor Matters of the Second Circuit (“Collegiate Court”), located in the State of Mexico, determined that in order to consider a work shift as discontinuous, it is necessary that the period of interruption for rest during which the employee can leave the workplace exceeds one hour.

Also, the Collegiate Court resolved that a work shift will be deemed continuous when the rest period does not surpass 60 minutes, regardless if said rest period is longer than the statutory half hour break and the employee can enjoy it outside the workplace.

The Collegiate Court’s decision is now a precedent since the judges conforming said Collegiate Court unanimously ruled the same way on five consecutive occasions.

The aforementioned precedent was published in the Weekly Federal Court Report and its Gazette, Volume XXXIII, May 2011, Page 898, Ninth Era, under the title of “DISCONTINUOUS SHIFT. CONCEPT OF AND DIFFERENCE WITH CONTINUOUS SHIFT.”

In this way, the precedent specifies the length that rest periods must have in order to determine whether a shift is continuous or discontinuous, aiming for a real and effective interruption of the shift in the case of discontinuous shifts.

For further information, please contact your principal Firm representative or one of the Partners listed below.

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Lic. Germán Müggenburg
Lic. Andrés Rodríguez
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Fax: +52 55 5280.3214

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