Today, October 23th 2019, the Mexican Official Standard on psychosocial risk factors at the workplace: NOM-035-STPS-2018 (NOM), on identification, analysis and prevention of psychosocial risk factors in the workplace, published by the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare (STPS, by its acronym in Spanish) in the Official Gazette of the Federation (DOF, by its acronym in Spanish) on October 23th, 2018, enters into force.

The NOM establishes a number of obligations that must be met by the employers; such as establishing, implementing, maintaining and disseminating a policy concerning the prevention of psychosocial risks at the workplace. This policy must inform employees about the measures established by the employer and mechanisms for the filling of complaints. In addition, the employer must adopt measures to prevent the aforementioned risks and combat any act of workplace violence.

Also, it is expected for employees who have suffered severe traumatic events, violence, or any other psychosocial risk occurrence strictly arising from its employment activities, must be referred by the employer to the corresponding medical care institution to receive the necessary medical and/or professional attention.

The employer must keep a compliance record regarding the obligations represented in the NOM and will be subject to inspections carried out by STPS.

Likewise, it is important to note that according to the Federal Labor Law (LFT, by its acronym in Spanish), companies that fail to comply with this obligation may be penalized with fines ranging from 250 UMAs to 5,000 UMAs (approximately: $26,000 pesos to $ 535,000 pesos).

Cuesta Campos has implemented a tool with the objective of evaluating, analyzing, visualizing and complying with the specific chapters established by the NOM.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.