For seven months the reform sat idle in the Senate. This week it could finally move. On October 14, 2026, the Senate Labor and Social Welfare Committee approved, with eight votes in favor and with changes, its report on the bill passed by the Chamber of Deputies that amends articles 3o. Ter and 132 of the Federal Labor Law (LFT) to recognize the right to digital disconnection. La Jornada reported that the First Legislative Studies Committee also approved it and that a floor vote in the full Senate is expected this week.

For any company that coordinates teams by email, phone calls or WhatsApp, this stops being an HR best practice and moves closer to a legal obligation. At CounselHub we explain what was approved, what is still pending and what is worth preparing now.

Where the reform comes from

The Chamber of Deputies passed the bill on March 3, 2026 unanimously, with 447 votes. Since then, the text had been waiting for a committee report in the Senate. With committee approval in hand, the next step is the floor vote. Because senators made changes, the bill would have to go back to the Chamber of Deputies to review those changes before being sent to the Executive and published in the Federal Official Gazette (DOF).

What the committee report says

The text defines digital disconnection as the right of workers not to take part in communications with their workplace once their workday ends, during non working hours and during vacations, permits and leave. According to information released by Canal del Congreso and the media outlets that covered the session, the report includes, among other points:

  • Respect for rest time: employers must respect rest periods, permits, leave and vacations.
  • Internal disconnection policy: each company would have to establish a digital disconnection policy agreed with its workers or their representatives.
  • Rules for digital tools: companies must set rules for the use of communication tools and measures to balance business needs with workers' personal and family lives.
  • Narrow exceptions: as reported, they would apply only in cases of force majeure or justified operational emergencies, which must be set out in the company's internal regulations.

The change for remote work

Senators added a paragraph for people who work remotely on flexible schedules: in those cases, the right to disconnect will also apply during breaks agreed between the worker and the employer, as long as they are recorded in the collective bargaining agreement or the internal work regulations. This means reviewing how hybrid and remote arrangements are documented today.

When it would take effect

The original bill provided that the reform would take effect the day after its publication. The Senate report changed that: the decree would take effect 180 days after its publication in the DOF, a window intended to let employers, workers and their representatives agree on how to apply it. After that, the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare (STPS) would have an additional period to issue implementing regulations.

This means it is not mandatory yet. But if the full Senate approves it in October and the Chamber of Deputies accepts the changes, the preparation period would begin as soon as it is published, on top of the gradual reduction of the workweek that starts in January 2027.

In the same session: pay transparency

The committee also approved, with eight votes, a report that would require companies to state the salary range in every job posting or opening, published through any channel, internal or external. In addition, workers could request information on the criteria used to calculate their pay. This report is not in force either: it must complete its process in both chambers and be published in the DOF, and it may be amended along the way.

What is routine today in many companies, such as the eleven p.m. message or the job posting with a “competitive salary”, could become a documented labor risk.

What we recommend reviewing now

  1. Map how your company communicates. Identify which areas receive instructions after hours and through which channels, including WhatsApp groups.
  2. Define what counts as an emergency. Exceptions will have to be written into your internal regulations. It makes sense to agree now on which operational situations justify contacting someone outside their working hours and who may do so.
  3. Update your documents. Review your internal work regulations, individual employment contracts, the collective bargaining agreement if you have one, and your remote work policies, especially where flexible schedules exist.
  4. Prepare for the negotiation. The disconnection policy will have to be agreed with workers or their representatives, so it is better to come to the table with your own draft.
  5. Review your job postings. If the pay transparency report moves forward, your job ads will have to include ranges. Organizing your pay scales today avoids improvising later.
CounselHub recommendation: do not wait for publication in the DOF. Use these weeks to draft a digital disconnection policy and an emergency protocol that you can adjust to the final text. If you also fold these changes into the same review of regulations and contracts you already need to do for the 46 hour workweek, you will run one exercise instead of two.

At CounselHub we are following the Senate floor vote and the review in the Chamber of Deputies. If you would like us to review your internal work regulations, your contracts or your remote work policies, we will gladly help you prepare them.