Special Declaration of Absence

On June 22, 2018, the “Decree that issues the Federal Law of Special Declaration of Missing Persons and amends diverse dispositions of the Federal Labor Law; of the Federal Law of the State Workers; of the Social Security Law; of the Federal Law of the Institute for Social Security and Services for State Workers; of the General Law of Credit Instruments and Transactions; of the Law of Credit Institutions and of the Agrarian Law” (the “Decree”) was published in the Official Federal Gazette and entered into force on June 25, 2018.

The Decree sets forth the federal procedure to issue the Special Declaration of Absence, its effects towards the missing persons and their relatives once it is duly declared by the competent Judicial authority.

Some effects derived from the Special Declaration of Absence are: i) to guarantee parental rights; ii) to protect the missing person’s heritage; iii) to provisionally suspend judicial, commercial, civil or administrative acts against the missing person’s rights or assets; iv) to dissolve the marriage if the present spouse expressly requires so; v) to ensure the continuity of the missing person’s legal personality.

The Special Declaration of Absence protects the employment rights of the missing person as follows: i) the employer will grant them leave of absence without payment (in the event the missing person is found alive, the employer must reinstall him in his last job position, prior to his disappearance); ii) if he is found alive, he will recover his job position, ranking and seniority; iii) his beneficiaries will keep their social security rights and benefits; iv) housing credit payments will be suspended.

Employers are forbidden to discharge or terminate the employment relationship with an employee that has been declared as missing person and has a Special Declaration of Absence.

According to the Decree, the disappearance of an employee, that derives from a criminal act, will be considered as a work-related accident. Hence, the employer will be required to indemnify the employee’s beneficiaries according to the provisions of the Federal Labor Law.

Mexico City, June 26, 2018.