Agreement of the Ministry of Health that establishes extraordinary measures about Phase 3 of the Pandemic for COVID-19
Emmanuel Ibarra Castillo
On April 21st, 2020, the agreement establishing extraordinary measures about Phase 3 of the pandemic for COVID-19, was published in the Federal Official Gazette. Although it does not present many novelties, companies must prepare to face this stage of the epidemic and plan the period after it, therefore, we make our remarks to the most relevant content:
A. WHAT IS NEW IN THE AGREEMENT?
- It formalizes the non-essential activities suspension period from March 30th to May 30th, 2020.
- It confirms the extraordinary actions disclosed in all previous agreements issued by the various health authorities.
- It establishes the extraordinary actions implemented may cease as of May 18th, 2020 in those municipalities with low or no transmission of the virus.
- It grants state governments powers to implement measures of prevention, control and compliance with extraordinary measures, as well as the establishment of measures to reduce the mobility of its inhabitants.
B. DOES THIS AGREEMENT ESTABLISH NEW OBLIGATIONS FOR THE COMPANIES?
- No, the extraordinary measures that had already been suggested by the health authorities are reiterated (prohibition to work for vulnerable groups, suspension of non-essential activities, no more than 50 workers working at the same time in the company).
- It is important to be aware of the provisions that the state authorities issued or may issued to comply with this agreement that may imply new obligations for companies, to comply with them.
C. WHAT PAYMENT OBLIGATIONS DO THE COMPANIES HAVE IN THE PERIOD FROM APRIL 30th TO MAY 30th, 2020?
- It must be remembered that the Federal Labor Law establishes that the employer’s obligation, in the event of suspension of the employment relationship, is the payment of compensation to workers of up to one month’s salary, which may have already been fulfilled by the employers on March 30th to April 30th.
- Regarding the paragraph above, it is necessary to review the agreements that signed with their workers individually or with their unions regarding the period from March 30th to April 30th and, where appropriate, modify them or generate new agreements with their workers for the term of the April 30th to May 30th, according to the possibilities and economic reality of the company.
- It is important to plan and share with your workers possible new agreements and measures to be implemented in the company after May 30th, with a view to recovering the economic activity of companies.
- Dialogue and negotiation with workers must always be carried with the principle of reaching understandings to preserve health, avoid job losses and seek to give the company tools to overcome this difficult scenario.
D. HOW DOES THE AGREEMENT AFFECT ME IF MY COMPANY DOES NOT PERFORM ESSENTIAL ACTIVITIES?
- If your company does not perform essential activities, the labors and activities must have been already suspended or must be suspended immediately.
- The suspension must be reflected in an agreement with the company’s workers that details the cause of the suspension, its duration and the compensation to be paid to the workers during the suspension period, which will be up to one month’s salary.
- If some workers continue to work, it is necessary to document the conditions under home office agreements.
E. HOW DOES THE AGREEMENT AFFECT ME IF MY COMPANY PERFORM ESSENTIAL ACTIVITIES?
- As result of the increase in inspections and visits to companies, it is necessary to have the documentation that proves that it is an essential activity or is part of a supply chain of an essential activity to continue operating.
- It is necessary to attached to the above, Articles of incorporation, service provision contracts, customer letters, invoices, commercial activity licenses or any other document that proves that the company performs essential activities or is part of the supply chain of an essential activity.
- It is necessary to prove that health measures are being respected, that workers from vulnerable groups are not being employed, that there are no more than 50 workers.
- It is necessary that all workers who will continue working have face masks in the performance of their work.
- It is necessary to issue a document to the workers stating that they will continue working in a company that carries out essential activities and therefore can circulate on public roads, in the event that any authority requires them.
F. WHAT MEASURES ARE RECOMMENDED FOR COMPANIES WITH ESSENTIAL ACTIVITIES, TO PREVENT THE CONTAMINATION OF THEIR COVID-19 EMPLOYEES FROM BEING QUALIFIED AS A WORK ACCIDENT?
- In this Phase 3 of the pandemic, if the company will continue to operate, it must be proven in a writing form that all the health measures are being implemented to avoid the contagion and spread of the virus.
- We suggest integrating the Safety and Hygiene Commission, which establishes a plan to verify compliance with health measures to avoid contagion and spread of COVID-19, and to carry out weekly minutes for the verification of the measures implemented and that establish that there have been no infections in the workers who continue working in the company.
G. WHAT SHOULD I DO IN CASE OF INSPECTIONS BY MUNICIPAL, STATE OR FEDERAL AUTHORITIES AT THIS PHASE 3 OF THE PANDEMIC?
- It is important to train the personnel who will continue working in the handling and attention of inspections of the various authorities that may occur at this phase 3 of the pandemic, to avoid the imposition of sanctions.
- Appoint who will attend the inspection if they arrive and what information will be given to the authority.
- As noted above, documentation must be available to the staff that proves that it is an essential activity and that the health measures ordered are being complied with.
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For additional information, you can contact any of the members of our Labor Practice Team.
Lic. Emmanuel Ibarra Castillo
IMPORTANT NOTE: The information contained herein is of a general nature and for information purposes only. Please note that this does not address the circumstances of any individual or entity. We recommend that you do not take any action based on this information without the proper professional advice of our attorneys based on your particular situation.
