Yankee Come Back? Occupational Safety and Health Reform in Mexico

Abstract

In the past decade, Mexico has been the site of serious reform in occupational safety and health law. The article aims to describe these reforms, raise questions about their implications, and provide preliminary assessments. It describes the health and safety legal framework, including workplace safety committees, and outlines several possibly beneficial reforms: improved notice-and-comment standard-setting; enhanced penalties; compliance certification by private firms; enhanced employer due process rights in inspection and penalty procedures; and sharpened experience rating for workers' compensation premiums. The article also raises conerns over several aspects of Mexico's post-reform system: weaknesses in whistleblower protection; avoidance of first-infraction penalties; lack of rights to refuse dangerous work, and others.