Mexican law gives benefits, better pay for domestic workers

MEXICO CITY – For the first time, Mexico’s Senate has approved a law requiring written contracts, paid vacation and annual bonuses for domestic workers.

The bill has already been approved by the lower house. It opens the way for domestic workers be registered in Mexico’s social security system, which also provides health care.

The new law will prohibit hiring domestic workers under 15. It requires defined rest periods of at least nine hours per day, at least 1 1/2 days off per week and an annual bonus.

The bill was passed on a 117-0 vote Tuesday and goes to President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to be signed into law.

It remains unclear how the law will be enforced. Middle class Mexican families hire maids, often from provincial towns, on verbal contracts.