Mexico's Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nación (SCJN) has changed the method for calculating civil death indemnities by replacing the minimum wage with the Unidad de Medida y Actualización (UMA) [1, 2].
This shift effectively lowers the amount of money paid to beneficiaries despite recent increases in the national minimum wage. Because the UMA is a separate official reference unit, the payouts no longer track the upward trajectory of labor wages [1, 2].
The court said the change was necessary because death indemnities are not labor remunerations [3, 1]. By decoupling these payments from the minimum wage, the SCJN aims to prevent fraud and ensure that the payments align with the official reference unit designed for such obligations [3, 1].
The financial impact of this decision is highlighted by the divergence between wage growth and indemnity values. The minimum wage in Mexico increased from 88 to 315 pesos [3]. Under the previous system, this increase would have significantly boosted the payouts for the families of deceased workers.
Under the new criteria, the UMA serves as the sole benchmark for these civil payments [1, 2]. This means that while a worker's daily pay may rise, the compensation paid upon their death does not increase at the same rate, or may even decrease in relative value, because the UMA does not mirror the minimum wage's growth [2, 3].
There is some contradiction regarding the scope of this ruling. While some reports suggest the decision extends to pensions for the parents of deceased military personnel, other records indicate the new rule applies specifically to civil death indemnities for workers [1, 4].
“The court said the change was necessary because death indemnities are not labor remunerations.”
The ruling creates a financial paradox where the legal value of a human life in civil indemnity terms is decoupled from the cost-of-living adjustments reflected in the minimum wage. By prioritizing the UMA over the minimum wage, the court is limiting the liability of payers and preventing 'windfall' payments that would have resulted from the aggressive recent hikes in Mexico's base salary.
