Proposed Federal Labour Law Reform on Workplace Sexual Harassment

Initiative containing a bill for a decree amending and supplementing various provisions of the Federal Labour Law concerning the prevention, handling, investigation and sanctioning of sexual harassment and sexual harassment by supervisors in the workplace.

On 13 July 2027, Deputy María Teresa Ealy Díaz of the Morena parliamentary group submitted an initiative to amend and supplement various provisions of the Federal Labour Law in order to establish a comprehensive system for the prevention, handling, investigation and sanctioning of sexual harassment and sexual harassment by supervisors in the workplace. Its purpose is to replace a predominantly reactive model with a preventive, institutional and rights-based approach centred on the protection of workers’ human rights.

 

The statement of reasons argues that sexual harassment and sexual harassment by supervisors constitute serious manifestations of gender-based violence that affect dignity, physical and psychological integrity, sexual autonomy, and the right to decent work free from violence. In addition to their individual effects, such conduct undermines the organisational climate, reduces productivity, increases staff turnover and perpetuates inequalities between women and men.

The initiative identifies the principal shortcomings of the current legal framework as the absence of mandatory specialised protocols for all workplaces, the lack of specialised internal bodies to receive and process complaints, the absence of maximum time limits for their resolution, the lack of immediate precautionary or protective measures, and the insufficiency of sanctions to produce a preventive and deterrent effect.

The proposal considers that the mere statutory prohibition of such conduct is insufficient to eradicate it. It therefore proposes permanent institutional mechanisms to identify risk factors, receive complaints in a timely manner, protect alleged victims, and investigate the facts in a professional and specialised manner, applying a gender perspective.

It also emphasises the need to combat the silence and impunity arising from fear of reprisals, as well as to recognise that sexual violence in the workplace is not merely an individual dispute, but rather a phenomenon that affects organisations, productivity, economic development and social justice.

 

Principal Proposed Employer Obligations

For workplaces employing more than ten workers, the initiative proposes introducing the following obligations:

• To have in place a Protocol for the Prevention, Handling, Investigation and Sanctioning of Sexual Harassment and Sexual Harassment by Supervisors.
• To ensure periodic training on substantive equality, human rights, the prevention of workplace violence, sexual harassment and sexual harassment by supervisors.
• To implement confidential, accessible and secure mechanisms for the receipt and handling of complaints.
• To adopt timely and proportionate protective measures where there are reasonable grounds to believe that there is a risk to the alleged victim, while preventing reprisals and re-victimisation.

The initiative also provides that the federal and local labour authorities would conduct periodic inspections in order to verify the existence and proper implementation of protocols, complaint mechanisms, training and protective measures. In parallel, it proposes mandatory and ongoing training for workers, including senior managers, middle managers and human resources personnel.

 

Provisions of the Federal Labour Law Involved

The bill for a decree proposes adding various subsections to Article 132, inserting Articles 132 Bis, 132 Ter and 132 Quáter, and amending Article 133 by introducing new prohibitions relating to sexual harassment and sexual harassment by supervisors.